The Darkness Inside
by MileyHannahFan
Summary: London has a gift that could win the war for whichever side possess it. Voldemort wants it. Dumbledore has it. London will be forced to make a choice. All people have both light and darkness inside them, it is their choices that make them who they are.
1. 1: Family Ties

Heavy clouds masked the stars and the moon, making it almost impossible to see. As the wind howled ferociously, a hooded figure hurried along Huntington Drive carrying a strange bundle. The figure looked around as if terrified they would be spotted. Keeping to the shadows, the figure adjusted the bundle and walked up to the front door of number 12 and silently laid the bundle on the doorstep along with a letter. The figure sighed. This was the second time he had left a child alone on a doorstep, although this time the child was to go to a wizarding family. The figure straightened up and walked briskly to the end of the street where they disappeared with a loud crack. On the doorstep the bundle moved and a tiny fist closed around the letter lying along side it.

"London! London if you don't get down here in one minute-"

"Here I am!" From behind the gray velvet couch a young girl with wavy blond hair that reached halfway down her back jumped up, causing her father to take a step back.

"London, I thought I asked you not to do that?" London put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

"Oops!" London's father sighed. It had been ten years since London had been left on the doorstep of his home. He and his wife Cynthia had taken her in without fuss. They loved London like they loved her younger sister Ella. Ella was only seven and had brown hair that fell in curls around her face, just as her mother's did.

At the moment London was teasing her father Andrew, Ella and Cynthia were at the doctors, getting medicine for Ella's cough. That was one of the only things London didn't like about her parents. Cynthia was what Andrew's kind liked to call a muggle, meaning she was non-magic and had absolutely no faith in the wizarding hospital of St. Mungos. Andrew was a wizard and he had absolutely no faith in muggle doctors, so every time either London or Ella was sick Cynthia and Andrew would fight about where they were taken to be treated. In this case Cynthia had won, so Ella was waiting in a long line for some medication.

"London did you hear what I said?" London snapped back to reality and looked at her father.

"What?"

"I said, that your mother should be back with Ella in about an hour," Andrew repeated as a smile crossed his face. London grinned back and the two of them ran down to the room at the end of the darkened corridor. Inside was what Cynthia called the most curious objects she had ever seen, but to London the objects were what she would be using every day in just one more year.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the one place London dreamed of going more than anywhere else in the world. She had heard wonderful things about the teachers there, and especially wonderful things about the school's current headmaster Albus Dumbledore. If anything, she mostly wanted to go to the school just to meet him. Her father had tried to talk to her, to tell her that he was a busy man and that he probably wouldn't have any time for her but she refused to listen to him. She didn't know how, but she knew that he would talk to her and even if it took seven years, she would work up the courage to talk to him back. Although London is not a shy person, the thought of talking to one of greatest sorcerer's in the world scared her more than the thought of meeting He Who Must Not Be Named.

"Today London, I will show you a simple spell called _Aguimenti_, which is used to create water." London immediately stopped daydreaming about Hogwarts and began watching her father intently. She was fascinated at how he could produce a jet of clear water from his wand just by uttering a single word and sometimes, no word at all. After awhile though it started to get boring and her bright blue eyes began to survey the room, taking in every strange object that she could see. Sneakoscopes, cauldrons, spellbooks, quills and parchment scattered around the room. Her father was never really one for cleaning up after himself. London watched Andrew continue to do simple spells until they heard the screech of her mother's car in the driveway.

"Quick Dad, she's home!" Andrew hastily shoved his wand into his pocket before ushering London out of the room. It wasn't that Cynthia didn't approve of magic; it was just that she was a little uncomfortable with him using it when she was around.

"Hi Daddy!" Ella exclaimed as she came bounding into the living room.

"Hi Princess," he replied, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Yep!" Ella grinned, showing a gap where her baby tooth had been. London smiled as well. She loved the way her sister was just so free, the way she didn't have a care in the world except for making sure her favourite teddy wasn't put in the washing machine with her bed sheets. Cynthia walked into the room with a tired look on her face. While she looked very put together with her black skirt, white blouse, black blazer and black high-heels, London could tell she just wanted to soak in a hot bath for an hour before dragging herself to bed. London smiled again which received an inquisitive look from her mother.

"What are you up to?" She asked. London giggled again.

"Nothing!" Andrew stood up straight and Ella stopped examining her bottle of medication to stare at London. London took all of this in before answering. "Seriously Mum, I'm not doing anything." Cynthia frowned.

"London go and help Ella put her bottle in the medicine cabinet, Andrew could I see you for a moment in the kitchen?" Andrew nodded and he followed his wife into the kitchen. London was tempted to stay and eavesdrop but a tug from her younger sister meant she couldn't. If she did, Ella would just be a tattletale and tell their parents and then London would be in trouble. Deciding it wasn't worth it, London allowed herself to be dragged into the bathroom in order to help Ella place a bottle of cough medicine on one of the shelves in the cabinet.

"What?" Andrew growled. He refused to believe what his wife had just told him.

"London has to go and live at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," Cynthia said sadly as she pulled her own brown curls into a bun. Andrew took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his short blond hair. He couldn't imagine why London had to go and live there, but it didn't look as though he had a choice. That was the agreement he and his wife had made when they took London in.

"What's the Order of the Phoenix?" He asked his wife. If his adopted daughter was required to go and live there he wanted to find out why.

"I don't know exactly," Cynthia began slowly, her face painted with an expression of deep concentration. "All I know is that Dumbledore formed it back when they fought, when they fought Him last time, you know before his disappearance?" Andrew nodded. It made sense that Dumbledore would have reformed this organisation now that He Who Must Not Be Named had once again risen to power. He had no clue of what any of this had to do with London, but he did know that there would be a good reason for sending London there.

"I'm not letting her go." Andrew said forcefully. "She's only ten and she's not ready to live away from home just yet."

"I know honey, I understand what you're saying but do you remember what the letter said? You know, the one that was left with London?" his wife replied.

"Yes."

"The letter said that if He Who Must Not Be Named returned to power, as Dumbledore knew he would, then there would come a time when London would need to leave us. She'll be coming back though. It's not permanent."

"I know that and you know that, but I'm not sure if London will understand that." Cynthia gave Andrew a look which he understood immediately. They would not need to tell London anything in order for her to understand. "When will she leave?" Andrew asked, accepting defeat.

"They said it would be best if she left almost immediately."

"They?"

"The men who came and spoke to me while Ella was in the playroom at the surgery. I didn't catch their names, but they said they would come to our house at five o'clock today to pick her up and take her straight there." Andrew nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by his wife, "They're using brooms," she added as an afterthought, answering her husband's unasked question. Both Andrew and Cynthia looked at the ground. Now there was nothing left to do except to tell London. They could hear both London and Ella re-enter the living room, and grasping hands they walked out to join them.

When her parents emerged from the kitchen London felt uneasy. When they told Ella to go and play with her dolls she felt nauseous. Her parents asked her to take a seat on the couch she had only recently been hiding behind. They then took seats opposite her on an identical couch, but without letting go of each other's hands.

"London," her father began slowly, "you know we love you very much right?" London nodded and Andrew continued talking. "Well, keeping in mind that we are considering everything, we have decided that you need to go and live somewhere else for awhile." London was shocked. Her parents were sending her away for who knew how long. She didn't understand what she had done.

"Have, have I done something wrong?" She asked timidly on the verge of tears.

"No of course not honey!" Cynthia said quickly, "we just feel this would be best for you and your gift." London sat back and thought for a moment about her gift. She was able to understand people's intentions better than anyone else. She stared at her parents, searching their faces for some sort of clue that would tell her why she was being sent away.

"You're sending me away because you think I'll be able to better control my gift with some careful training?" Cynthia and Andrew nodded simultaneously. The ability London had meant that no one needed to explain things to her in full detail, but it also meant that no one could do something without her knowing why they were doing it.

After taking a deep breath London nodded. Although she was unhappy with the decision that had been made she understood why her parents were doing it, and she had nothing to offer in her defence.

"When do I leave?"

"Someone's going to come and pick you up in fifteen minutes. Do you need me to help you pack?"

London nodded feeling very small and upset. Her Mother smiled at her kindly, took her hand and walked her upstairs. Andrew watched them go before putting his head in his hands. "She'll be fine," he murmured to himself. "She'll be okay."

Upstairs London and Cynthia were busy packing London's trunk. Cynthia had just folded up London's favourite dress, which was orange and white with a flower pattern, when there came a small knock at the door.

"Come in!" She called and little Ella crept into the room.

"What are you doing?" She asked inquisitively watching her older sister pack a pair of white ballet flats to go with the orange dress. London looked at her Mother before answering.

"I'm going away for a little while Ella, but I'll be back before you know it," London said, trying to sound positive. Ella was silent as she watched London and Cynthia pack two pairs of jeans and a few jumpers. As London was packing her sneakers she spoke again in a soft voice.

"London I don't want you to go," London looked at her Mother who understood. London sighed and motioned for Ella to follow her out of the room.

"Listen here Little Miss Ella," London said kindly using her pet name for Ella once they had sat down on Ella's bed, "I'm not going away forever, I'll come back." Ella looked up at her sister with her large brown puppy-dog eyes. "I will come back," she repeated a little forcefully as if she was not just stating a fact to her sister, but was making a promise to herself. "Whatever happens Ella, I promise I will come back." Ella said nothing, but hugged London tightly around the chest before retreating down to the living room where Andrew was still sitting. London returned to her bedroom where Cynthia was now sorting through books to take.

"Mum?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"I am coming back aren't I?" Cynthia fixed her daughter with a kind stare.

"Yes London. You will be coming back but I'm not sure when it will be." London looked at her Mother and realised that she would always be coming back to live with her parents no matter how long it took.

Five minutes later, London trudged down the stairs holding her coat while Cynthia dragged her trunk. It was absolutely freezing outside, like it was everyday in the city of London, which was where she and her family lived. There wasn't one joke about her name being the same as the city where she lived that London hadn't heard. As she walked into the living room her kitten Nala brushed past her leg.

"I haven't forgotten about you sweetie," she whispered to the kitten as she scooped her up and placed her inside a carrier case. Nala was named after the character in the Lion King, as one of London's many muggle traits was her love for Walt Disney. She was first in line for every new Disney movie, book or TV show that came out. In the living room was Ella who looked small and had puffy red rings around her eyes. London felt a pang of guilt as the realisation of her leaving came into effect. She felt as though she was abandoning her baby sister, but she immediately thought of the promise she had made and attempted a weak smile at Ella which was not returned. As well as her father there were also two men that London did not recognise. One was tall with dark skin and the other had lighter skin, but looked shabbier in a way. London stood in the doorway, unsure of what she should say. Luckily her father spoke first.

"London, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin. They'll take you to the place you'll be staying." London stared at the two men and attempted to read their intentions. They intended to get her to headquarters safely and as quickly as possible. London also read a sense of impatience in Kingsley's body language, so she got into saying her goodbyes quickly.

"Goodbye Daddy, I'll miss you," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He kissed her briefly on the top of her head before wrapping her in a bear hug. When he let go of her she turned to her mother, whose eyes were sparkling from tears. "I love you Mum," London whispered into her mother's ear.

"I love you too." Mother and daughter shared a hug that seemed to London it lasted a century. When they finally broke apart London was almost knocked down by the force of which her sister had latched onto her. Ella didn't say anything, but London read the intentions she had placed into the hug and immediately understood how her sister was feeling.

Kingsley cleared his throat and London hastily pulled on her coat, scarf, beanie and gloves. With one final wave goodbye she turned and walked out the door, ready for whatever adventures were in store.


	2. 1: Introductions

London fell quickly into step behind Kingsley as they hurried up the drive and down the street.

"Excu-" London began, but Kingsley silenced her by lifting his hand.

"It is better if we do not speak about things until we reach our destination," Lupin said softly, "that way it is unlikely we shall be overheard." London nodded and continued to walk forwards. As she walked she thought about her parents and about Ella. She refused to believe that they would just give her up without some sort of explanation. Even her gift did not tell her why her parents were sending her off with complete strangers.

She swallowed and hurried to keep up with Kingsley. She barely even noticed Lupin's eyes as they bore into her, while he attempted to get a better understanding of her personality. He knew that she tried to look like a brave girl, but he could see through that. He could see that she was terrified at the prospect of leaving her family with two strangers, but she did not understand things that he did.

London's survival was essential to the Order, and it was for this reason only that her parents had willingly let her leave with them, that and the fact that they were only her adoptive parents and they knew her actual parents would come to find her one day.

Looking up Lupin saw that both Kingsley and London had stopped walking and were now staring at him in earnest.

"We are ready." Kingsley stated in his deep voice. "London, we shall be travelling by brooms tonight." London nodded. Terrified though she was, the idea of riding on a broomstick made her blood shiver in excitement. It was one of the things she was most looking forward to about joining the wizarding world at Hogwarts. Kingsley pulled two brooms out from a nearby bush and gave one to Lupin, keeping the second for himself.

"Here London, sit behind me and place your hands on my waist," said Lupin as he mounted his broom. London did so, feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. "Now don't be frightened. As long as you hold on tightly you won't fall off." London nodded, trying to look brave. She didn't know if she was succeeding or not, but when the broomstick shot into the sky she gave a little yelp of surprise.

As the broomstick rose higher and higher London gripped onto Lupin more tightly, afraid that she would fall.

"London, look around!" She could hear Lupin yell. His voice sounded faint against the rushing of the wind. She was afraid of looking down and looked ahead instead. A beautiful sight met her eyes. Stretching over the horizon was the city of London, illuminated by its many lights. She could see Big Ben, which looked small compared to what it usually looked like. Curious, London looked straight down and saw that she was miles above the ground. Fear consumed her once more and she shut her eyes tightly.

Through slitted eyelids she saw Kingsley begin to descend. A few seconds later the broom tilted forwards and London felt as though she was falling. When Lupin's feet touched the ground London slid off the broom, her legs shaking. She was hoping Kingsley would allow her to sit and recover her strength, but one look at him said enough. Feeling quite small and alone London took a step towards Lupin and immediately her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

"Some people do find that brooms take a bit of getting used to," Lupin said kindly offering her his hand. She took it gratefully and he helped her to her feet. Finding that she could stand properly, London hurried after Kingsley. They soon came to a stop in a courtyard which faced a row of identical houses. Lupin held out a piece of parchment for London to read.

"Read it quickly London, and then think about what you have read," Kingsley said softly. London turned her attention to the parchment.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at_

_Number 12 Grimmauld Place._

"Have you read it?" Lupin asked. London skimmed the slanted writing once more before nodding. Kingsley nodded and Lupin took out his wand. Without uttering a single word the piece of parchment burst into flames. London looked on, mesmerized as the last flicker of flame died down. "Think about what you have read London." London looked towards the houses in front of her. She saw Number 11 Grimmauld Place and looked to its right. But instead of Number 12, the house to its right was Number 13.

"Where-," she began but stopped as the houses in front of her began to move and Number 12 Grimmauld Place came into view. Lupin waved his hand towards the house and ushered London forwards. As she passed the window of Number 11 she peeped inside. It seemed as though the muggles hadn't felt a thing.

London stepped inside the front door and looked around. The entry hallway she was standing in was half in darkness, as the only light came from a single candle burning on the wall. She could see an umbrella stand next to her, which when she looked at it closely seemed to resemble a troll leg. On the walls were paintings covered in spider webs, they looked as though no one had cleaned them for years. A few feet away from where she was standing was a set of curtains. London assumed they were covering a door. Before she could ask anyone Lupin put a finger to her lips.

"Best not to speak until we're out of the hallway," he explained to her in a whisper. London nodded and followed Kingsley to a door at the end of the hall. He knocked once and the door opened a crack. Kingsley began to confer in a hushed voice with the man on the other side of the door. London wasn't paying any attention. She was thinking of her family and wondered when she would see them again. As she thought of little Ella a tear trickled down her rosy cheek. She wiped it away slowly, not caring if anyone saw.

A few minutes later the door opened and the hallway was flooded with light. Lupin gave her a little push and London stumbled into the room. In front of her was a range of witches and wizards, both sitting around a table and standing against the walls. When she entered the room everyone turned to look at her except for one man who was standing in the shadows. London attempted to make out some of his features but was unsuccessful.

Instead, London looked towards the table and began to survey the people sitting around it. Her eyes first landed on a short plump woman with fiery red hair and a kind face, sitting next to her was a man with equally fiery red hair. There was a man who had shaggy black hair and a worn face, a man with gray hair, scars all over his face and a magical eyeball which whizzed around the room so fast it make London feel dizzy. A woman seated in the corner of the room had bright pink hair and knocked over a candle as she made to wave at London. A man with black greasy hair and a sneer on his face whipped out his wand and extinguished the flames.

"Good evening London," said a voice seeming to come from the shadows. As London watched, a man stepped out from the shadows. The man had long silver hair in addition to a long silver beard. Half moon spectacles were sitting upon a crooked nose and masking bright blue eyes. She realised with a gasp that this man was Albus Dumbledore. The one man she wanted to meet the most and also the one man she feared the most.

"G-Good evening sir," she replied tentatively. "How do you do?"

"Fine thank you. As you can see London, we are in the middle of a meeting. I shall introduce you to a few of the members sitting here and then shall allow Molly to take you to your bedroom where you will be able to meet the Weasley children along with Miss Granger." London nodded once. Immediately, Dumbledore began the introductions.

"This is Molly and Arthur Weasley," he said indicating red-headed witch and wizard, "and over here is Sirius Black." Sirius winked at her but she avoided his eyes. Considering what she had read in the _Daily Prophet_ she wondered why a cold-blooded muggle killer was allowed to sit in a room full of witches and wizards. Assuming she was missing a vital piece of information she let it slide, and instead focused on what Dumbledore was saying.

"Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be called by her last name only, and Severus Snape who is a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." London looked at Snape with interest. He didn't look friendly, and she was suddenly afraid of what the other teachers at Hogwarts might be like. With all the thinking she had done she had never once thought about what the teachers were really like.

"Molly, if you would be so kind as to escort London upstairs now," Dumbledore started, allowing his sentence to trail on before coming to a standstill. Mrs Weasley stood up and began bustling London out of the room.

"I haven't got long," Mrs Weasley said briskly, "I'll just show you where you're sleeping and then I'll have to return to the meeting." London nodded, her mind was a blur. They climbed two flights of stairs before stopping in front of a door. "Here you are dear, just pop inside and I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you!" Mrs Weasley said. Then she turned and left without explaining what she meant. London took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" came the answering call. London opened the door and walked inside the room. In front of her were five teenagers, all so much older than her. Four of them had fiery red hair like Mr and Mrs Weasley, so she assumed they were the Weasley children to whom Dumbledore had been referring. The fifth had brown bushy hair and like the others held a puzzled expression on her face.

"Who are you?" Asked one boy. London looked at him in earnest and noticed that in addition to the red hair, he, his brothers and his sister all had freckles.

"I'm London, London Yarrow. I, um, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt brought me here," London stammered, feeling more nervous with every word she spoke.

"Oh!" exclaimed the girl with bushy brown hair. "So you're the London everyone was talking about. Don't you remember Ron?" When no one answered the girl with bushy hair turned back to London. "Dumbledore was talking about you, making arrangements to bring you here." Rather suddenly, the girl realised that London didn't have a clue who anyone was. "Sorry," she said quickly before beginning the introductions, "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ginny, Ron, Fred and George Weasley," she said indicating the four red-headed teens. Fred and George were identical twins. London immediately panicked; she was hopeless at telling twins apart.

"So London," Ginny began, "how old are you? Are you heading to Hogwarts this year?" London shook her head.

"I'm only ten, I don't get to go to Hogwarts till next year."

"Too bad," said Ron, "Hogwarts is great. Still, when we all leave I guess you'll have fun here at headquarters." London's mind head began to spin. It was all too much for her. She was relieved when Hermione began a hurried conversation about Quidditch teams, although she suspected it had been started to divert the attention from her.

Half an hour later Mrs Weasley came back upstairs, calling them all down to the kitchen for dinner.

"Thanks Mrs Weasley but I'm not hungry," London said quietly. "I'm really tired though, I think I might go to bed."

"Are you sure dear? I could bring you up a tray," Mrs Weasley suggested. London shook her head. "Alright dear, you head off to bed and I'll tell Hermione and Ginny to be quiet when they come up." When Mrs Weasley left London flung herself on her bed and cried. As she cried she thought about everyone she had left behind. She thought about her parents, Ella and all her friends. Millions of questions swum through her mind. Would she ever see them again? Would she be allowed to contact them? Could they contact her?

A quiet mew from the corner made London realise she had forgotten her kitten Nala. Slowly, she got up and tiptoed over to the carrier. She picked Nala up and lay down on her bed again, stroking her kitten. Somehow this calmed her down, and she was asleep long before Hermione and Ginny came up and got into bed.


	3. 1: Blank

Mrs Weasley returned to the kitchen where pandemonium had broken out. There were people everywhere, scrambling for plates, knives, forks and goblets. Hermione's cat Crookshanks hissed and jumped off the chair he was on after Ron accidently tried to sit on him. Mrs Weasley briskly took her wand out and got to work enchanting various pots and pans to cook dinner.

When the food was served and everyone had found a place to sit the room was just as noisy as before, but looked much less crowded. Hermione and Ginny were watching Tonks and giggling as she changed her nose to reassemble a pig's snout, and then again to a duck's bill. Ron, Fred, George and Mundungus Fletcher were laughing as Mundungus told the three youngest Weasley boys one of his frequent stories about blackmail. Mrs Weasley frowned and quickly joined a conversation with her son Bill Weasley, Lupin, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Sirius and her husband about London.

"-must be absolutely terrified," Mr Weasley was saying.

"Dumbledore has made it clear that London is the second key to destroying Voldemort," Kingsley said calmly.

"What's the first?" Bill asked quietly.

"Harry," Kingsley replied.

"Yes but that doesn't mean we had to terrify the poor girl by separating her from her family. Why couldn't she stay with her parents?" Mr Weasley asked.

"I must admit I've been wondering that myself," Lupin said thoughtfully. "But Dumbledore made it very clear. London must live here at Grimmauld Place, at least for now."

"Is she still in her room?" Sirius asked. Mrs Weasley nodded.

"She told me she was tired and wanted to go to bed. I think she just wanted some time to herself."

"Time to think," Lupin suggested. "Time to think about her family and why we made her leave them. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't like any of us. At least not to begin with."

"Has Dumbledore told you Kingsley how London will help us to destroy Voldemort?" Mr Weasley said as he put a piece of broccoli in his mouth. Kingsley shook his head.

"He only told me it was vital that London came here to live. He said that she has something that will help us, but could also help the other side if they got a hold on it." Kingsley stopped speaking, suddenly aware that everyone in the kitchen was now listening to their conversation.

"Bed!" ordered Mrs Weasley as she stood up. The five teenagers got to their feet grumbling. They trudged upstairs together. Hermione and Ginny said goodnight to the boys and slipped inside their bedroom. The first thing they saw was London, lying asleep on her bed. She was fully dressed and had tear stains on her cheeks. Ginny looked at Hermione questioningly. Hermione just shrugged, and the two of them went to bed.

London woke the next morning and for a few seconds couldn't remember where she was; until with a jolt she remembered everything that had happened the day before. As quietly as she could she tiptoed out of bed and got dressed. She ducked through the door and emerged on a dark dusty landing. As she slowly descended the stairs towards the kitchen London looked around at what decorated the walls. She felt suddenly sick when she realised that house-elf's heads were the preferred decorations in the house.

London reached the bottom landing shaking slightly. She looked to her right and saw a door. Hoping it would lead her towards the kitchen she wandered inside. There were no heads lining the walls in this room, but as she looked around she saw that it was not the kitchen either. She turned to leave but something caught her eye.

The walls were covered in a tangle of branches, and on the branches were what appeared to be paintings of a family.

"It's a family tree," London whispered to no one in particular. She nearly jumped a mile when a voice answered her from behind.

"It's mine." London turned around and saw Sirius Black standing in the doorway. Her body tensed slightly and she was silent for several minutes while she read his intentions. When she was finally satisfied that he wasn't going to hurt her she relaxed but sidestepped a little towards the door. Sirius didn't appear to notice. He had moved to the other side of the room and was now staring at a spot just under a burnt away circle. London took another step towards the door, but kept looking at the spot Sirius was staring at. From where she was standing she could just make out the word 'Sirius,' written above it.

"Why's it blank?" She asked in a quiet voice. She suddenly remembered something that her Father had told her a few weeks ago after she'd asked him yet another question about Hogwarts. 'London, you're too curious for your own good!' They had laughed so hard that tears were streaming down everyone's cheeks. London smiled at the memory and then her stomach gave a little jolt. She stopped smiling. It hurt to think of them.

"It's been set aside for my child," Sirius replied.

"You're having a kid?" London asked, her face a mixture of confusion and horror. Sirius chuckled.

"No of course not, the child has already been born."

"Oh... then why is it still blank?" Sirius tore his eyes away from the blank spot on the wall turned to see London standing in the doorway.

"I never met my child London," he said gently, "I don't even know if it's a girl or a boy. When I found out that my girlfriend was pregnant I left her. I didn't want the responsibility of having a child to look after. I don't know what happened to them."

"I never knew my parents."

"I thought your parents were Cynthia and Andrew."

"Nope. I'm adopted. I wish I knew who my real parents were though. I've got so much to ask them."

"Really? Like what?" London looked into Sirius's eyes. They were full of kindness and sorrow, but London didn't trust him. She didn't trust anyone at Grimmauld Place, not even Albus Dumbledore.

"Like um, where do I find the kitchen? I'm starving!" Without giving Sirius a chance to reply she turned and ran from the room. This time she found a set of stairs leading down to the basement. Hoping that the kitchen was that way she ran down them and almost knocked into Lupin.

"Slow down London," he said calmly. She ignored him and raced on, completely unaware that just above her head Sirius Black was touching the blank face with his fingertips, before closing the door on the room.

London entered the kitchen to find Mrs Weasley sitting at the table.

"Morning London!" She exclaimed. "Are you hungry?" London became suddenly aware of her growling stomach and nodded. "How about I make you some scrambled eggs and toast?"

"Thanks Mrs Weasley," London said as she sat down at the table. Mrs Weasley waved her wand and instantly the food and kitchen appliances began to move as if an invisible hand were moving them. London watched with great interest, and didn't notice Sirius and Lupin enter the room.

"Here you are dear," Mrs Weasley placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of London.

"Thank you!" London picked up her fork and was about to begin eating when Mr Weasley entered the room.

"Morning all!" He exclaimed brightly.

"Morning," everyone called back to him. London ate her breakfast while the adults talked. She had no clue what they were talking about, and since no one was speaking to her she didn't want to ask. She had just finished when Mr Weasley turned to her.

"Ah London, I forgot to mention this. I got an owl from Dumbledore earlier and he said he wanted to talk with you."

"Me?" London squeaked. Mr Weasley nodded.

"He should be here in a few minutes. Molly, you and I will have to leave while they talk."

"What about Sirius?" Mrs Weasley asked immediately.

"Dumbledore wants to speak with him too."

"Why?" Sirius asked sounding suspicious.

"Because you are an important part of what I need to say."


	4. 1: Acceptance

The room was silent. Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway to the kitchen and London was terrified. She didn't want to face him anymore than she had wanted to leave her parents. Sirius was staring at Dumbledore apparently confused. He still didn't understand why Dumbledore needed to speak with him as well. Only Mr Weasley moved. He tugged Mrs Weasley's elbow gently and led her out of the kitchen. Dumbledore walked in and settled himself in the seat opposite from London. London felt herself go red and immediately looked down at her hands.

"Dumbledore-" Sirius began but Dumbledore silenced him by holding up one hand.

"London I know that you possess a gift, and I also know that you do not fully understand why you have been brought to Grimmauld Place. I am here to explain both of these things. Sirius," he said as he looked towards him, "I will talk to you once I have spoken to London." Sirius nodded and lent back in his seat. London glanced up and caught the gaze of Albus Dumbledore. Embarrassed she looked at her hands again.

"London your gift enables you to read people's intentions. It is not a gift that has been conjured by magic, or one that was given too you at an early age but is in fact something you have learnt for yourself."

"How could she have done that?" Sirius interjected before London had a chance to speak.

"I do not believe she has intended to learn this gift, but rather it was taught to her by someone."

"Who?" London spoke quietly and didn't look up, but both Sirius and Dumbledore heard her. "Who taught it to me? Was it my Dad? It can't have been Mum because she's not magic!"

"Alas dear child it was neither Andrew nor Cynthia. No, I believe this gift was taught to you unintentionally and by someone who did not know they were teaching you."

"I don't understand," London said honestly. Although her parents called her smart for her age she was confused about what Dumbledore was trying to say.

"Don't worry London; I didn't expect you to understand straight away. I believe that the person who taught you this gift was the same person who gave Harry Potter his scar."

"What?" Sirius growled angrily.

"Calm down please Sirius. I assure you that Lord Voldemort," London gave a small twitch at the sound of his name, "knew nothing of his teachings to young London here. But nevertheless he has recently discovered of what he made. London tell me, what do you use your gift for?" London was silent for a moment as she tried to recall what she used her gift for.

"Well, I use it to know if someone is impatient with me or angry with me or if they're going to do something mean to someone else and it could hurt them badly," she answered slowly, making sure to get everything right.

"Can you think of what Voldemort may try to make you do with that gift?"

"He might make me read the intentions of his enemy," London began, "but I don't want to do that! I don't want to be anywhere near him!" She said in a hurry.

"That is why I have had you brought here to Grimmauld Place London. You will be much safer here at the Order of the Phoenix where there are countless aurors to protect you. Your parent's house is too much out in the open and would have given Voldemort or his Death Eaters plenty of opportunities to grab you." Suddenly London was fearful, not for herself but for her parents and for Ella. Were they safe at home? She asked Dumbledore this and he smiled kindly.

"We have placed an auror at their house for their protection."

"Um, I just have one more question," London said rather timidly.

"Yes?"

"Am I allowed to keep in contact with Mum and Dad and Ella?"

"Sending owls flying around this muggle suburb is dangerous for the Order as it could allow the Death Eaters or the Ministry to find our location," Dumbledore began. London's heart sank. Now that she had an explanation for being dragged away from her family all she wanted was to send them a letter. "However, you may send them an owl once a fortnight. Just be cautious what you put in the letter. Remember they could be intercepted and read by the wrong people."

"Yes I will be!" London said excitedly. She couldn't wait to start writing to them.

"Good. Sirius, would you mind escorting me upstairs to a place where we can chat in private?" Dumbledore asked as he rose from the table. Sirius got to his feet and led Dumbledore out of the room. When he caught London's eye he winked. As they left the room Mr and Mrs Weasley entered, followed by Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Fred, George, Bill, Tonks and Kingsley. Everyone except for Mrs Weasley sat down around the long table, chatting with each other as they went. Mrs Weasley immediately started to bustle around the stove, making scrambled eggs and toast for everyone who hadn't yet had breakfast.

"London?"

"Yeah?" Came the happy reply. Hermione looked at London in surprise. She no longer looked or acted like the small young girl that first arrived at Grimmauld Place but instead seemed happy, as if she had finally accepted the reason why she had been separated from her family and brought here. "Sorry Hermione, I've got to go and get some parchment and a quill so I can write a letter to my family."

Without waiting for a reply from Hermione, London jumped up and ran from the room. Ginny and Hermione exchanged a glance.

"What did Dumbledore tell London to make her so happy?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, it's as if she's actually going to accept us now." Ginny replied. The two girls grinned at each other as Mrs Weasley placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of each of them. While everyone was eating London returned with parchment and a quill and began to write a letter to her family. Her face was full of concentration. She was attempting to think of ways to write to her parents whilst being careful what she put into the letter.

By the time breakfast was over London was rolling up her parchment and politely asking if she could borrow someone's owl. Bill volunteered his owl and the two of them went to his room to get it.

"This morning," Mrs Weasley began in a loud voice over the chatter in the kitchen, "this morning those of us who do not have to work will be cleaning the living room." Immediately Fred, George, Ron and Ginny began complaining to their Mother, and still were when London re-entered the room. She quickly took in the scene before reading Mrs Weasley's intentions. One quick look told her that Mrs Weasley was about to explode.

"Come on guys, it'll be fun!" London said with a forced smile on her face. Hermione caught on to what London was trying to do immediately.

"London's right Ron, it could be fun. Remember when we cleaned the upstairs bedrooms?" Ron gave Hermione a dirty look, but followed his Mother and siblings into the living room. Hermione took London's arm and began to lead her out of the kitchen, but London couldn't shake the feeling that Sirius, who had just walked down the stairs, was staring at her and she wanted to find out why.

By lunchtime London, Hermione, Sirius and the Weasleys were exhausted. They had spent the entire morning attempting to clean the living room, but were not having much luck. An angry Mrs Weasley left the room to bring everyone a plate of sandwiches for lunch. She returned ten minutes later to find the room full of laughter and Fred and George with blood noses.

"I thought I threw those out," she said from the doorway. Everyone jumped as they looked around at her and as Fred and George quickly swallowed something small. The bleeding stopped, but Mrs Weasley looked stern.

"Let's eat!" said Sirius hastily. Hermione, London, Ginny and Ron began to eat the sandwiches hungrily but Mrs Weasley stopped Fred and George from eating any. Instead she pointed to the door and led the way out of the room. Hermione got up to close the door, but before she could a house-elf slipped inside.

"Hello Kreacher!" Hermione exclaimed brightly.

"Filthy mudblood talking to me as a friend! Oh what would my poor mistress say?" whispered Kreacher under his breath. London looked at Kreacher curiously. His ears were large and drooped low, his old teacloth of a robe was tattered and worn. Kreacher himself was very thin and looked to London relatively unhealthy.

"Kreacher! What are you up to?" asked Sirius sharply. London watched Kreacher carefully as he walked towards a chest of drawers in the corner of the room. On top of it were a few photo frames and a goblet.

"Nothing Master. Master knows Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black."

"And it's getting blacker every day."

"Master always did like his joke," Kreacher continued to edge towards the drawers. Reading his intentions London quickly spoke up.

"You better keep an eye on that ring Sirius." Everyone turned to look at her except Sirius who was watching Kreacher like a hawk.

"Don't worry about it too much London," Ron said through a mouthful of cucumber sandwich, "he's only looking to take the photos."

"Which are going into the rubbish," Sirius exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Ron swallowed and continued to speak, "besides, there is no ring in this room London."

"No he's going for the ring. Trust me." Kreacher had reached the chest of drawers and began to look around although he appeared to be dusting. Hermione, Ginny and Ron began to talk amongst themselves loudly as Sirius stepped over a rug that was coughing out dust, grabbed Kreacher by his tunic and threw him from the room. He closed the door and went to the corner where the ring was hidden. London watched him as he moved a portrait of an old lady out of the way to reveal a hidden shelf. On the shelf was a small ring, one which held the Black family crest. As she watched Sirius took the ring out and began to inspect it.

"If everyone is finished with lunch then we'll clean those curtains," London turned her attention to Mrs Weasley who had returned with Fred and George, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Sirius hastily slip the ring into his pocket and put the portrait back so that the shelf was hidden once again.

Dinner that night was roast beef, roast potatoes and vegetables. A fairly simple meal when you're cooking for five people. When you're cooking for a dozen people it was a little trickier. When everyone was finally settled and they had begun to eat an owl burst into the room, interrupting the chatter that hadn't ceased since the room had been filled with people dying to say what they knew.

The owl dropped a roll of parchment on Mr Weasley's lap. He put down his cutlery and carefully unrolled it, fully aware that he held the attention of everyone in the room. He finished reading it then passed it along to Lupin. By the time the parchment returned to Mr Weasley everyone except the five teenagers and London had read it. Mr Weasley nodded briefly and slowly people began to leave the room. By now no one except London was still paying attention and she was sure that no one but her noticed them go.

Everyone finished their meals relatively quickly and Mrs Weasley set the plates the task of washing themselves with a flick of her wand. London watched as the sink filled with water and soap and the plates began to dunk themselves in before a cloth would rub up and down its surface.

"Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Hermione, London, you all need to go upstairs while the adults have their meeting," Mrs Weasley said calmly. London tore her eyes away from the plates to watch as Mrs Weasley began an argument with her four youngest red-haired children.

"Mum that's not fair!"

"We're of age! We should be allowed to stay!"

"I want to know what's going on too! Just because I'm not of age doesn't mean I can't know!"

The complaints just kept flying at Mrs Weasley. London caught Hermione's eye and understood that this happened every night. Hermione was warning London not to get involved. Taking the hint, London made her way towards Hermione and together the two of them left the kitchen. They could hear Ron, Fred, George and Ginny admit defeat as they began to climb the winding staircase to the second floor. At the landing Hermione and Ron took the first door on the left, going into Ron's bedroom so they could talk. London followed Ginny to her room and Fred and George went to their own.

As soon as they got inside and had closed the door Ginny began to voice a long list of complaints that London guessed had built up in the time Ginny had spent brooding in her bedroom while the adults were in the meetings. A loud crack startled London and even got Ginny to stop her rambling. Fred and George were standing in the middle of the bedroom dangling extendable ears. A smile crossed Ginny's face and the four of them walked out to the landing where they were met by Ron and Hermione. Fred let one end of the string fall to the floor and he held onto the other so that they could eavesdrop on the meeting.

"Been attacked by dementors!" Mrs Weasley was saying. "What if he's been hurt?"

"Don't worry Molly. Dumbledore's gone to the ministry to sort everything out. Harry will have to attend a hearing soon but until then he hasn't been expelled from Hogwarts or been hurt," Mr Weasley said.

"Who would have ordered dementors on my godson?" asked Sirius. 'Godson?' London mouthed to Hermione. Hermione nodded then put her fingers to her lips. She wanted to hear more.

"We don't know yet Sirius but I'm sure that Dumbledore will figure it out."

"You don't think it was you-know-who do you?" asked a timid Mrs Weasley.

"I don't know Molly, but I'm sure that-" Mr Weasley's voice cut off suddenly. Fred shook the extendable ear but they still couldn't hear anything. He looked down to see what was wrong, and looked straight into the face of an angry Mrs Weasley.

"Bedrooms. Now," she said through gritted teeth. Fred hurriedly pulled up the extendable ear string and the teenagers bolted for their different rooms. London was headed towards her bedroom but Hermione pulled her into Ron's. When they got inside and closed the door Hermione began to speak in a rushed voice.

"Harry's been attacked by dementors, he's almost been expelled, could have been hurt, Dumbledore at the ministry, oh Ron what are we going to do?" Ron and London stared at Hermione with their mouths open. "Oh never mind. I'll just look it up!" Hermione stormed off to her bedroom and returned a few minutes later with a book. She flicked through it before finding a page she was satisfied with. London and Ron looked at each other awkwardly. Neither of them wanted to speak because they were afraid Hermione might snap at them.

"Here it is! It says here that 'in the case of an attack an under-age wizard is permitted to use magic in self-defence.' So Harry can't be expelled. It's completely unfair." She snapped the book shut and looked expectantly at Ron and London. Before either of them could speak the door opened to reveal a boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Harry Potter.


	5. 1: Explanation

**A/N - **Oh my gosh guys I am sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated in like forever. I kind of lost inspiration a bit and then I got busy and it just got seriously out of control! I really hope that you all like this chapter and that it makes up for my unfortunate lack of updating. Fingers crossed that this was worth the wait! :D

* * *

London only got a glimpse at Harry before he disappeared behind Hermione who was hugging him so tightly London could have sworn she was trying to strangle him. London giggled as Ron caught her eye and made a face. Hermione released Harry from her death-hug and began to ramble.

"Are you alright? We've heard them talking about the dementer attack! It must have been terrifying! And this meeting at the ministry, it's just outrageous! I've looked it up they simply can't expel you! It's completely unfair!"

"There's a lot of that going around isn't there?" London watched Harry carefully. He looked unhappy and furious, which she thought was odd considering he was standing in a room with his friends. "I've gone all summer without a scrap of news!"

"We wanted to write mate," Ron began, "really we did, only-"

"Only what?"

"Only Dumbledore made us swear that we wouldn't tell you anything!" Hermione said in a rush.

"Dumbledore said that?" Hermione nodded and Ron avoided Harry's eye. London watched as Harry's temper began get the best of him and his voice grew louder. "Why would he want to keep me in the dark? Maybe I can help! I'm the one who saw him come back, I'm the one who saw Cedric Diggory get murdered, I'm-"

"Harry!" Hermione cut him off and flicked her head slightly in London's direction. London, who was busy trying to remember if she'd heard of a Cedric Diggory before didn't notice as everyone turned to stare at her. "Harry, this is London Yarrow, London this is Harry Potter." London smiled and shook Harry's hand.

"How do you do?" She said in a bright voice.

"Fine," replied Harry in a slightly uncertain voice.

"Really? It seems to me like you're trying as hard as you can not to yell at Ron and Hermione, and that you don't really believe a word they're trying to tell you!" From behind her she could hear Ron chuckling.

"I - how did you know that?" London shrugged and opened her mouth to explain about her gift, but before she could say anything Fred and George apparated into the room.

"Hi Harry!" They said together. There was a small knock on the door and Ginny poked her head in, the hand clutching the door black with a dust that London was sure had come from dungbombs.

"Hey Harry. Nice to see you still alive then?" she said with a grin.

"Barely," Harry replied grinning back at her. "So London, what were you going to say?" Harry asked turning towards her.

"She was going to explain how she knew you were planning to yell at us," Ron supplied happily. London smiled as she realised how light the mood was in the room. It pleased her to think she had something to do with that.

"I was going to tell you guys why I was brought here." Earlier that day, when Dumbledore had spoken to her, London had asked if it was okay if she told anyone. He had said it was as long as the only people she told were either in the order or were living at Grimmauld Place, but to refrain from telling Kreacher. At the time London didn't know who Kreacher was or what the order was so she didn't worry about it. When she met Kreacher earlier she realised that she would never have told him even if Dumbledore said she could.

"It's kind of a boring story, I don't even know why I'm telling you all, but Dumbledore said I should." Hermione smiled kindly at her and told her that everyone would love to hear her story. Ginny came in and sat down on Ron's bed next to Ron and Hermione, Fred and George sat down on Harry's bed and London sat on an armchair that she dragged to the middle of the room. Only Harry remained standing. He stood across from her and avoided looking directly into her eyes.

"Well, to truly understand my gift I'd have to tell you about the day I was found on my parent's doorstep. I was only a baby when Dad found me on his way to work. They wanted to adopt me, but I was sent to live at an orphanage for three months before everything was legal. I don't remember anything about the orphanage and since no one ever came for me I've lived with Mum and Dad ever since. When I was five I started school-"

"You went to a muggle school?" interrupted Ron. London nodded. "Why? Mr Yarrow's a wizard isn't he?"

"Yes but Mum's not. She tolerates magic but she doesn't really like it. I guess it shows how much she loves him to think that she overlooks the fact that he can do magic. Anyway, Mum insisted that I still needed to go to school even though I was a witch. She said that it was important to learn things like how to read and basic maths and stuff.

I only really started to use my gift when I turned seven and after I started to show signs of magic. It happened when my family and I were visiting Albania." London stopped talking and thought for a moment about Dumbledore saying that she had been taught the gift. She had a vague memory from when she was seven of a bright light blinding her and then waking up from a strange dream.

"What happened in Albania?" asked Ron.

"I don't really remember much of the trip, but I remember walking off and coming to a tree that I climbed. After that I don't remember anything until I woke up the next day. Anyway, so when I was seven I was watching my Mum walk into the living room. She said she had come in to look for her reading glasses but somehow I knew that she already had her glasses and was intending on checking on me and my sister. At the time I had no idea how I knew that was what she was doing, but as I got older it kept happening.

By the time I was nine I was also able to see how people were feeling and I could see just by looking at them what they were planning to do. My parents say it's a good thing because I can stop Ella from doing something dangerous when they aren't in the room. It's kind of a weird feeling though, I mostly feel like I'm invading people's privacy when I read their intentions."

"Interesting," exclaimed Hermione. "I've never heard of a gift like this in all of wizarding history. You must be the first one." London nodded.

"Dumbledore said that only a really powerful wizard could have caused it."

"Who?" Asked Harry, speaking to London for the first time since he walked into the room. London looked at him obviously confused. She had a nagging feeling that Harry knew who had caused the gift and that he was asking London to prove him wrong. "I mean do you know who caused the gift?" he clarified. London nodded.

"Yes." The room was silent, everyone was waiting for London to tell them who.

"Who was it London?" Ginny asked quietly.

"You-Know-Who. Dumbledore says he gave it to me unintentionally but now he knows that I have it and he wants to use me. That's why I was brought here to Grimmauld Place." No one spoke, shocked at what London had just told them. Fred held up the extendable ears and pointed towards the balcony. Ginny shook her head and held up her blackened hand.

"Tonks told me to fling dungbombs at the door and if they rebounded then there was an imperturbable charm in place. I bet you anything Mum put it there to stop us from eavesdropping." Before anyone could answer her they heard voices coming from the landing.

"Kids? The meeting's over, come down and have some dinner!" For a moment no one moved. They were all still in shock from what London had told them. It was only after the deafening crack of Fred and George apparating did Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and London make a move towards the kitchen.

"Hermione could you put those plates on the table please? Ron, Ginny can you get us some clean goblets and London would you be able to help me with the potatoes?" Mrs Weasley asked as soon as she noticed them enter the room.

"What can I do to help Mrs Weasley?" asked Harry.

"Nothing dear, you can sit down next to Sirius." They obeyed and within thirty minutes everyone was sitting around the crowded table eating.

"This is very very peculiar," Mr Weasley began speaking to Harry. "It seems as though your hearing at the ministry is to be before the entire wizengamot."

"I don't understand. What's the Ministry of Magic got against me?" Harry asked, aware that the room had suddenly gone quiet.

"Show him," growled Mad-Eye from the corner where he stood. London had been told by Ron that he never ate or drank anything offered to him. "He'll find out soon enough." A copy of the Daily Prophet was handed to Harry and London watched as he stared at his picture gazing up at him with the caption 'The Boy Who Lied.'

"He's been attacking Dumbledore as well," said Sirius as the photo changed to one of Cornelius Fudge and the caption changed to read 'Fudge: All Is Well.' "Fudge is using all of his power to smear anyone who claims that the Dark Lord has returned.

"Why?" asked Harry quickly. London looked around and noticed that no one was eating. They were all listening to what Sirius was saying.

"Fudge believes that Dumbledore is after his job," stated Lupin.

"That's insane!" Harry replied angrily. "No one in their right mind would believe that."

"That's exactly the point. Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear."

"What's Voldemort doing? I've been listening on the news and there haven't been any funny deaths and I wondered why."

"There haven't been any funny deaths because Voldemort is laying low," said Sirius. London listened with interest. This was the man the Order was protecting her from but according to Sirius he was staying out of sight.

"Then, what's he doing?"

"Voldemort has been recruiting heavily and we've been attempting to do the same but it's tricky. Everyone is too afraid of what he will do to join us and fight him." Harry said nothing but looked a little disappointed.

"Gathering follows isn't the only thing he's interested in though," continued Sirius. "We believe Voldemort may be after something,"

"Sirius," warned Mad-Eye.

"Something he didn't have last time."

"Like a weapon?"

"No." Everyone's heads turned towards Mrs Weasley who was striding towards Harry. "That's enough. He's just a boy. You say anything more and you may as well induct him into the order."

"Good I want to join. If Voldemort's building up an army then I want to fight!"

"Yeah us too!" said the Weasley twins together. There was a murmur of agreement from the other teenagers at the table. London stayed silent but began to eat her dinner as she could see Mrs Weasley was about to explode. Luckily Mr Weasley recognised the warning signs and started a conversation about something else before it could get out of hand.

When dinner was over and everyone went to bed London lay awake thinking about the weapon Sirius had mentioned. She couldn't help but wonder if she was the weapon. Something he didn't have last time.

London was woken the next morning by Nala pouncing on her chest. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning to you too," she whispered to her kitten. Looking around London saw that she was the first one awake. Silently she got out of bed, got dressed and tiptoed out of the room. She started to make her way down to the kitchen when she saw Kreacher emerge from a cupboard.

"Hello Kreacher," said London quietly. Kreacher looked around before spotting London. He mumbled something under his breath which London couldn't make out, but she didn't think it was anything nice.

"What are you doing Kreacher?" Kreacher made a face before answering.

"Kreacher is cleaning." London looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to reply to her.

"Don't lie to me," she said feeling a little annoyed.

"Kreacher would never lie to a young mistress," Kreacher replied as he bowed his head. The comment made London pause. She didn't know a lot about house-elves, but she did know that they only took orders from their masters. Before she could ask Kreacher hurried away, clutching the photograph he had just stolen close to his chest. London watched him go with half a mind to follow him and see where he went when she heard her name being called from the kitchen. With a quick look at Kreacher's disappearing figure she ducked into the stairway and walked down to the kitchen.

"Good morning London!" called Mrs Weasley as she jumped up from the table to greet her.

"Morning," she replied watching as Bill and Lupin hurriedly cleared away the rolls of parchment that were cluttering the table. Mrs Weasley caught her looking and began a conversation with her about what was happening for the rest of the day. London sat at the table and tried to look interested in what Mrs Weasley was saying. She caught the eye of Lupin who gave her a quick wink before making his way up the stairs and had to try even harder to listen.

"So what do you think dear?" Mrs Weasley asked as she placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of London.

"What sorry Mrs Weasley?"

"How do you feel about us tackling the drawing room today?" repeated Mrs Weasley patiently.

"Oh um yeah that sounds great." Mrs Weasley smiled and turned back to the stove. London ate her breakfast in silence until the other teenagers joined her at the table. She immediately struck up conversation with Ginny although she couldn't shake the feeling that Harry kept sneaking looks at her, as if he knew something she didn't.


	6. 1: Unexpected News

London watched from her seat at the kitchen table as Mrs Weasley attacked Harry's hair with a wet comb. The morning of Harry's hearing had arrived and London could tell that he couldn't wait for the day to be over. When Mr Weasley announced that it was time for them to leave a small smile crept onto London's face as she saw the relief Harry felt about being away from Mrs Weasley's comb. As Harry and Mr Weasley left the room London saw Harry's relief quickly turn to something more like nausea.

Despite being the youngest and one of the newest residents at Grimmauld Place London found that she was enjoying herself more and more the longer she stayed. Making the house fit for human inhabitants wasn't how she had planned to spend her summer but she was happy she got to do it.

"Would you like something to eat London? Sorry about the wait, but I needed to make sure Harry looked okay for the hearing." London looked at Mrs Weasley and saw the anxiety that she was sure wouldn't go away until Harry got home.

"It's okay Mrs Weasley I understand." Mrs Weasley smiled.

"How about I make you some scrambled eggs?"

"Thanks Mrs Weasley."

"So how are you London?" asked Tonks after a few minutes of silence. "You must be missing home."

"I do miss home sometimes," London agreed. "But I'm enjoying living here too. I like all the people I've met. They've all been really nice."

"Wondering what you'll do when everyone leaves for Hogwarts?"

"Uh I don't-"

"Here you are dear!" London let out a sigh of relief as Mrs Weasley placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. Sitting down opposite her, Mrs Weasley began a conversation with Tonks, leaving London to eat her scrambled eggs in peace. By the time she was done everyone else had woken up and had come down to the kitchen in search for food. Mrs Weasley had just put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of everyone when Lupin walked through the door.

"London, could I have a word?" London nodded and got up from the overly crowded table. She followed Lupin up three flights of stairs into the drawing room. Lupin closed the door before turning to face her.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, the smile on her face fading slightly. Lupin shook his head.

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to talk somewhere a bit more quiet."

"Oh." London stared at Lupin, reading his intentions. Satisfied that he really did just want to talk, she relaxed.

"So how do you like Grimmauld Place?"

"It's-" London struggled to find the right word.

"Informative?" Lupin suggested.

"Yeah that." Lupin smiled.

"How do you like the Weasleys?"

"I like them. They're all really nice. So are Harry and Hermione!"

"Ah you've answered my next question before I was able to ask! Are you sure your gift doesn't allow you to read minds?" asked Lupin jokingly. London giggled.

"I should be getting back. Mrs Weasley will want me to help clean out the spare bedroom on the ground floor." Lupin nodded and the two of them returned to the kitchen.

"London dear there you are. Are you ready to clean the spare room?" London nodded. Before she could reply something caught her eye. She turned to face Fred and read what he was about to do.

"I wouldn't do that Fred," she said loudly. The room fell silent.

"Why not?"

"If you keep moving the way you're going you'll set your sleeve on fire." Fred looked at the stove and saw the open flame. He put the pot he was carrying down and blew the flame out.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I was thinking about Harry and Dad. They'd be at the Ministry now wouldn't they?" Ron checked his watch.

"Yeah they should have just arrived." London watched as everyone in the kitchen shifted uncomfortably as they thought of Harry at his hearing.

"His hearing's not till this afternoon," said Mrs Weasley with a forced smile, "we have plenty of time to clean the spare room before that!"

"Okay Mrs Weasley," London said with a smile herself, "but that's a broom cupboard." Mrs Weasley turned to look at the door she had just opened.

"Thank you London," the four Weasley children began to laugh uncontrollably. Hermione and London exchanged a glance before following Mrs Weasley up to the spare bedroom. London decided to watch everyone carefully. She remembered a few years back when Ella had been really sick and her Mum had taken her to the hospital to have some tests done. She remembered having to stop her Dad from doing something dangerous many times before the results of the tests came in. Ella was fine but London knew that if she hadn't been keeping an eye on him, her Dad would have been in the hospital as well. She decided this was exactly the same, and settled in for a morning that would be busy and frustrating.

By the time Mrs Weasley announced a lunchbreak the Weasleys, London, Hermione and Sirius were exhausted. London had saved everyone an unwanted trip to St Mungo's at least once and she felt as though she was ready to collapse. Sensing this, Mrs Weasley took hold of London's shoulders and steered her towards a chair in the kitchen, telling her stay put and not to lift a finger.

It only took a few minutes for the kitchen to erupt into a cacophony of sounds. There were people talking, chairs scraping against the floor, knives and forks clinking against each other and a particularly loud screech from Crookshanks when Fred accidentally trod on his tail.

Everyone was so occupied at getting lunch ready that none of them seemed to notice when Mr Weasley and Harry walked through the door. Mr Weasley attempted to shout over the noise but his voice wasn't loud enough. He made eye contact with London who immediately understood what he wanted her to do. She walked over to Mrs Weasley and tapped her on the shoulder, pointing to the door where Harry and Mr Weasley were standing. Mrs Weasley turned to look where she was pointing and let out a gasp of surprise.

"Arthur! Why didn't you say you were back?" she exclaimed.

"I haven't got much time Molly, just dropping Harry off before heading over to sort out an exploding toilet," Mr Weasley replied happily. Everyone stared at Harry.

"Well?" asked Ron in an impatient voice.

"Cleared, of all charges!" said Harry triumphantly. Everyone began to shout as they expressed their congratulations. Harry was nearly knocked over by Hermione who hugged him so tightly London was surprised she didn't hear one of his ribs crack. Ginny, Fred and George started a sort of war chant and began to dance around the kitchen. Mr Weasley's voice rose above everyone else's as he told Sirius who he had seen at the Ministry.

"Lucius? What was he doing at the Ministry?" came Sirius' reply.

"I don't know, but we must make sure Dumbledore knows that he was snooping around again." Sirius nodded and Mr Weasley turned back to his wife.

"I must be off Molly, that exploding toilet won't fix itself!" Mr Weasley kissed her on the cheek and made to walk out of the room. "Oh one more thing, Kingsley may be popping in for tea."

"That's fine,"

"HE GOT OFF HE GOT OFF HE GOT OFF!"

"WILL YOU THREE SHUT IT?" Mrs Weasley screamed at her children doing the war chant. They stopped and sat down at the table, still chattering away at the top of their lungs. Mrs Weasley turned back to her cooking and Harry, Ron and Hermione began a hurried conversation about Lucius Malfoy being at the Ministry. London's smile faded as she saw a disheartened Sirius slip out of the room, unnoticed by anyone but herself. With a last fleeting look at Mrs Weasley, she crept out the room and began to follow him.

He was a flight of stairs above her when she called his name. Hearing her voice he turned around. London waved up at him and he waved back. Suppressing a smile he sat down and waited for London to catch up to him.

"Hi," she said cautiously when she had reached him.

"Hi." London stared at her feet as she realised she had no good reason for following him from the kitchen. Sensing this Sirius patted the spot next to him.

"I won't bite," he said with a smile. London hesitated before sitting down. She waited a few minutes before breaking the silence.

"Why aren't you happy that Harry is going back to Hogwarts?" she asked carefully.

"Well I-" London cut him off.

"Please don't bother lying to me Sirius," she said quickly. "I can read people's intentions so I know when they're lying." Sirius sighed as he got ready to tell her what he had never told anyone. He wasn't even sure why he was telling her, but something about the ten year old made him believe he could trust her.

"Okay, I promise to tell you the truth." Sirius looked to his right and met London's eyes. He didn't look away as he told her what he had hoped.

"I got my hopes up that Harry would be expelled and that we would live as outcasts together." London blinked but didn't break her gaze.

"That's awful! You didn't really want Harry to be expelled did you?" As Sirius looked into London's eyes he could see the concern she felt.

"No. But I would have liked him to live with me." London smiled sadly as she saw the pain Sirius felt about the idea of being alone in Grimmauld Place with only Kreacher for company. She stood up, ready to walk back down to the kitchen.

"You won't be alone you know." Sirius looked up with a questioning look.

"What do you mean?"

"In Grimmauld Place. You won't be alone. You'll have members of the Order coming and going and you'll have," London paused, not sure how Sirius would take what she was going to say.

"I'll have?" asked Sirius expectantly.

"Me." Sirius was silent for a few moments as he looked at the ten year old standing in front of him.

"Yep, I've got you too." London grinned before hurrying down to the kitchen to get some lunch. Sirius stared after her before standing and retreating to his room.

A week past and everyone continued to clean the house with only a few complaints every now and then. One particular dreary afternoon when they were removing a nest of spiders from the downstairs bathroom did there come some news to be excited over.

"Hogwarts letters are here!" Ron cried from the kitchen where he had taken refuge. Everyone looked at Mrs Weasley who told them they could run down to the kitchen to read their letters. London followed; intrigued by the letters she had heard so much about but had never seen.

"Here they are," said Ron as everyone entered the kitchen. He had already opened his and was clutching his booklist in one hand and the envelope in the other. There was a mad rush as everyone lunged at the table to grab their letters. London walked up to Ron and asked if she could see his. He shrugged and handed her the envelope.

London looked inside and saw another piece of parchment. She took it out and handed it to Ron. As she did, something small and shiny fell onto the floor. Bending down to pick it up she saw that it was a badge, imprinted with a shiny 'P'.

"Um, has anyone lost a badge?" she asked holding it up. Fred took it from her and looked at it closer.

"It's a prefect badge!" he said. "Must be yours Harry." He offered the badge to Harry who shook his head.

"It's not Harry's it's mine!" Everyone turned to look at Ron, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"Yours?" Asked Hermione whom everyone could see was clutching an identical badge. Ron nodded.

"Oh no!" George exclaimed as Fred let out a groan. "Mum's going to be revolting!" Ron turned a deep shade of crimson as his brothers began to bow before him mockingly.

"What is going on down here?" asked Mrs Weasley as she walked into the room. "Never mind. Look, why don't you all give me your booklists and I can go to Diagon Alley after lunch to get everything how does that sound?" Everyone thanked her and handed over their booklists.

"Now Ron you need some new pyjamas don't you? What colour would you like?"

"Why not maroon?" asked Fred.

"To match his new prefect badge!" added George. Mrs Weasley looked from the twins to Ron, who held up his new badge.

"Ron that's wonderful! Another prefect! That's everyone in the family!" she exclaimed happily.

"What are Fred and I? Next-door neighbours?" asked George angrily. Mrs Weasley ignored him as she gushed over Ron.

"Now we must get you something. We gave Percy an owl but of course you've already got one," she said referring to Pigwidgeon, the owl Ron had gotten from Sirius, "but how about some nice new robes or-"

"Mum," began Ron quietly, cutting her off, "can I have a broom?" Mrs Weasley's smile faltered a little. "Not a really good one, just a better one. Maybe the Cleansweep 11?"

"Of course you can! Look, I better be off if I have a broom to buy as well! How about you all relax this afternoon and then we'll have a party tonight to celebrate Ron and Hermione's appointments to Gryffindor Prefect? What do you say?" Everyone let out a cheer and Mrs Weasley left.

Ginny and Hermione sat at the table and began talking about who they thought the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would be, Fred and George left the room in order to try out some more of their Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products, and London settled down a kitchen chair, gently stroking Nala who had jumped up onto her lap.

"Well done mate," Harry said to Ron.

"I never thought I'd get it! I always thought it'd be you!"

"Nah I've cause too much trouble." Ron grinned at Harry's comment and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving. Harry turned and made eye contact with London. In the split second he did London felt her heart race and she swore she could hear a soft hissing noise. Harry left and the feeling did too. London shook her head and joined in the conversation with Hermione and Ginny. Right now, life couldn't get any better.


	7. 1: To Hogwarts

"I'd like to propose a toast," said Mrs Weasley raising her goblet of wine in the air. "To Ron and Hermione, new Gryffindor Prefects!"

"Ron and Hermione!" Cried everyone in the room, raising their goblets. Ron and Hermione began blushing furiously. London giggled as she watched everyone congratulate them on their appointments to Prefect. From the corner of her eye she could see Harry momentarily glaring at Ron. She could tell that he was jealous of Ron's badge and he was confused as to why he wasn't the one to receive it.

"London!" came a voice from her right. London turned and only just caught the bread roll that Ginny had thrown at her.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically as she held up the roll. Ginny held up her own roll in response and the two girls giggled. London suddenly became aware of someone watching her. She looked around and noticed that Moody's magical eye was fixed on her. Trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling of having someone watching her she walked over to the table to butter her roll.

"How do you like the party?" London gave a small jump and almost dropped her roll. She turned to find Ron standing behind her.

"What is it with Weasleys and scaring me?" she asked playfully. Ron grinned.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"It's okay. I love the party; your Mum's an amazing cook. Do you like your new broom?"

"Yeah I love it! It's not as good as Harry's broom of course, he's got a firebolt, but it's still a pretty good one." London smiled.

"I'm glad you like it." Ron stretched out his hand and ruffled London's hair. "See you kid." He walked away and began talking to Bill about his new broom. London frowned and combed through her hair with her fingers.

"Is that what it's like to have an older brother?" She asked Ginny who had come to stand next to her. Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, try having six of them."

"Six?"

"Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, George and Ron." Ginny replied as she counted them off on her fingers. "Six brothers." London made a face.

"Yuck," she said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it." London resumed the buttering of her roll while Ginny spoke to her about her brothers. While she spoke London found herself thinking of her own sibling. Ella began to wander through her thoughts, clutching the teddy that London had bought her for Christmas only a few years ago. She smiled sadly as she thought of her family.

"You really miss them don't you?" asked Ginny. London stopped smiling and looked at Ginny.

"Yeah, I do. But Dumbledore explained why I had to move to Grimmauld Place and it was to keep my family safe. I don't want them to get hurt," she replied. Ginny gave her a quick hug before telling her that everything would work out in the end and walking off.

London grabbed her now buttered roll and went off to find somewhere to sit. She managed to find a seat near Bill and Ron, who were still talking about Ron's new broom in earnest.

"It's a fairly decent broom Ron I'll give you that, definitely not as fast as any in the Nimbus series though," Bill was saying.

"No that's true, but you know, considering how much money we have it's still a really good broom," Ron replied. London could tell he felt a little uncomfortable so she turned away from their conversation and surveyed the room. She saw Fred, George, Harry and Mundungus in one corner of the room talking quietly to each other; Mr Weasley, Kingsley, Tonks, Lupin and Mrs Weasley were in another corner. Hermione and Ginny were sitting in chairs by the fire; Ginny had Crookshanks in her lap and was stroking him fondly. Only Sirius remained sitting alone, silently picking at the food on his plate.

London frowned as she remembered the conversation they had had earlier. Sirius must have felt someone watching him as he chose that moment to look up. He made eye contact with London and smiled. London smiled back and instantly felt happier. She liked when she could make people smile.

Looking at the clock that hung above the fireplace London decided it was time to go to bed since they would have to be up early tomorrow to go to Kings Cross Station. She said quick goodnights to everyone in the room before retreating quietly up the stairs to the bedroom she shared with Hermione and Ginny. She got changed quickly and climbed into bed, but before she turned out the light, London leaned over and grabbed the book Mrs Weasley had brought back for her from Diagon Alley, '_The Good and the Bad: Intentions with Consequences_ by Chroniclus Punnet.' Supressing a chuckle, London realised that Dumbledore must have given the book to Mrs Weasley to pass on her.

"I'll start reading tomorrow," she grumbled quietly as her eyelids began to droop. She put the book back on her beside and turned out the light. When London woke up the next morning it was to the sound of mayhem.

"Get up get up! We're going to be late! Hurry everyone, bring your trunks down and come and have some breakfast in the kitchen." London opened her eyes slowly and saw that Hermione was already up and dressed and was standing over Ginny with her hands on her hips.

"Ginny come on get up! Your mother just asked us all to hurry!"

"Just five more minutes," said Ginny sleepily. Hermione grabbed the sheets and pulled them back. "Hey!" said Ginny angrily as she sat up.

"Oh good, you're up!" Replied Hermione happily. London began to giggle and Hermione turned to look at her. "You'd better get up too London, Mrs Weasley says you're coming with us to say goodbye."

"Goody!" London bounced out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. She and Hermione left for breakfast leaving Ginny behind still searching for her socks. Almost as soon as they reached the kitchen Mrs Weasley placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of each of them.

"Eat up girls; we're on a tight schedule this morning." London and Hermione exchanged a glance before they began to eat. As they ate they heard a loud crash from upstairs. "What on earth-?" began Mrs Weasley before she ran out of the room.

"What do you think that was?" asked London. Hermione shrugged and the two girls continued to eat their breakfast. They didn't have to wait long before they heard Mrs Weasley's voice.

"YOU COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY! WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF YOU'D PUT YOUR SISTER INTO ST MUNGO'S? YOU WOULDN'T BE SMILING WOULD-" The rest of her sentence was drowned out by that of Sirius' Mother.

"FILTH! BLOOD TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS IN THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!" London looked at Hermione before the two girls burst into a fit of giggles. By the time they had calmed down Mrs Weasley had moved Fred, George and Ginny into the kitchen to yell at the boys some more and to fix Ginny's cut.

"I mean what were you thinking?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"We just-"

"Obviously you weren't thinking were you?"

"We were-"

"Maybe this will teach you to be more careful the next time you lift your wands."

"No we-"

"Coming of age means taking on responsibility. We never had this trouble with any of your brothers." Ginny and London exchanged a look. Once Mrs Weasley got going no one was able to stop her. Fred and George's garbled apologies were looked over and she sent them to find Harry and Ron, who still hadn't made an appearance.

"There you are Ginny, all fixed." Mrs Weasley smiled as she placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"Thanks Mum." Mrs Weasley and Hermione left the room to find the boys. London looked at the clock above the fireplace and saw that the time was ten o'clock.

"If it's only ten o'clock then why is your Mum so worried that you'll miss the train?" asked London.

"She's not worried that we'll be late, she's worried that something will happen to us on the way over. I mean, that's why we haven't left yet. We have to wait for the 'guard' to get here."

"The 'guard'? Is that for Harry?" Ginny nodded.

"I think so."

"Who's in the guard?"

"Us," came a voice from the doorway. London and Ginny turned to see Lupin, Tonks and Mad-Eye walking through the door. Tonks had disguised herself using her metamorphagus and Mad-Eye had a bowler hat over his magical eye.

"Oh good Alastor, you're here," said Mrs Weasley as she made her way into the kitchen, followed by the rest of the teenagers.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Asked Tonks.

"We can't leave yet," grumbled Mad-Eye. "Have to wait for Sturgis."

"Who's Sturgis?" London whispered to Ginny.

"Sturgis Podmore," Ginny whispered back, "he's one of the Order."

"Oh for goodness sake Sirius, Dumbledore said no!" Exclaimed Mrs Weasley. London wasn't sure what she was talking about, but then she noticed the black dog standing at Harry's side.

"Sirius is an animagus?" she asked. Ginny nodded.

"Come here Harry," said Mad-Eye. Harry went to stand by Mad-Eye who rapped him hard on the head. London watched in amazement as she saw Harry's body take on the appearance of the surroundings behind him.

"Wow," she breathed in astonishment.

"Well, we may as well head off if we don't want to be late," said Lupin. Mad-Eye's magical eye focused on Lupin while his normal eye checked his pocket-watch.

"I swear I'm going to report that man to Dumbledore. That's the second time this week he hasn't shown up for duty," growled Mad-Eye. Mrs Weasley began to shuffle everyone towards the door. "Okay, we'll be travelling in groups this morning. Fred, George, Ginny and London you'll go with Remus. Hermione and Ron you'll travel with Arthur, Harry you'll be with Molly and Tonks. I'll take the luggage."

"Sirius no!" cried Mrs Weasley as the great black dog bounded out of the front door and into the first lot of sunshine he had seen for weeks. "Oh all right then, but if anything happens it's on your head!" London and Ginny walked together towards Lupin. The twins were already waiting for them by the gate.

"Are you all ready to go?" asked Lupin politely. Everyone nodded and so they set off towards the King's Cross Station. It only took them twenty minutes to reach the station by foot. London, who had never been to platform nine and three quarters, was confused about what needed to be done to get there. Before she could ask Ginny grabbed her by the hand and dragged her through the brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Wow!" exclaimed London excitedly. She let go of Ginny's hand and turned the face the magnificent scarlet train that was eagerly awaiting the arrival of students.

"London over here!" London turned once more, this time away from the train to where she saw everyone waiting for her.

"Sorry," she said as she ran towards them, "I was just-"

"It's okay London," said Lupin kindly, "the train is very magnificent isn't it?" London nodded. She watched Mrs Weasley as she began to say her goodbyes.

"Be safe at school everyone. Follow the rules, be careful what you put in a letter, and for goodness sake boys please behave," she said, addressing the twins.

"We will Mum," replied George as she pulled him into a hug. London took her turn in hugging Ginny and Hermione. Although it had only been about a month, she had become close to them.

"We'll miss you London," said Hermione as she hugged her tightly.

"Yeah, make sure you write," stated Ginny.

"I promise! And can you please tell me all about Hogwarts in your letters? That would be safe to write wouldn't it?" Hermione smiled.

"Of course we will."

"Oh for goodness sake act more like a dog Sirius!" Mrs Weasley hissed as the black dog stood up on his hind legs and placed his front ones on Harry's shoulders. The train began to whistle and Mrs Weasley did another quick round of hugs before shuffling everyone onto the train.

As the train began to move London waved at her friends. When the train was out of sight, Mrs Weasley put her hands on London's shoulders and steered her towards the exit.

"Time to go dear." London allowed herself to be led away from the empty station and back towards the Muggle world on the other side of the barrier. It only took another twenty minutes to make it back to Grimmauld Place. Sirius entertained London by nipping at butterflies that flew past.

When they made it back inside London followed Mrs Weasley down to the kitchen for some sandwiches. As she sat and ate them, London tried to listen to the conversation the adults were having, but they spoke in hushed tones and barely looked at her. It was then London realised how dull it would be to live here now that people closer to her age had left.

She finished her sandwiches quietly and then retreated up to her room to get her book. With '_The Good and the Bad: Intentions with Consequences_ by Chroniclus Punnet' in her hand London walked to the living room, which they had only cleaned a few weeks ago, and settled in to read.

London didn't get to read as much as the title page before she was disturbed. Looking up, she saw Sirius coming into the room, clutching a book of his own. Curious, London read his intensions and saw that he had come into the room not to read, but to keep an eye on her. When she realised this, she almost got up to leave, but her need for company overruled her need to be independent, so she stayed.

'_This is going to be a long_ _four months_'


	8. 1: Questions and Answers

London hummed to herself quietly as she finished tidying her room. It had been three and a half months since the teenagers had returned to Hogwarts. It had been fun at Grimmauld Place for a little while after that, with Mrs Weasley still there acting as a Motherly figure, but even she had moved back into her own house. Members of the Order came and went, but it was mostly just London and Sirius living there alone.

"Are you done up there London?" called Sirius. London poked her head out of her room and yelled back to him that she was almost finished. "Alright, well finish up quick, there's someone here to see you!"

London closed her door and finished tidying her room in record time. Within two minutes she was heading downstairs towards the kitchen, where she assumed Sirius would be waiting for her.

While she walked she wondered who it was that had come to see her. She hoped that it was her parents. She hadn't seen them in close to four months now and she really missed them. They exchanged letters every two weeks, but it wasn't the same as seeing them face to face.

Jumping the last two steps, London hurried to the kitchen. She waited a few moments before going in to see if she could hear anyone talking inside. The room was silent so she knocked and entered. There was Sirius; sitting at the table with a bottle of butterbeer in front of him, and across from him sat Albus Dumbledore.

London stumbled a little when she saw who her visitor was. A slight chuckle from Sirius told her that her stumble hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Ah, London," said Dumbledore as he turned to look at her.

"G-good morning Sir," replied London quietly.

"London, Dumbledore's here to take you out for the day," said Sirius. London's mouth fell slightly open. She knew that it was a Saturday, but it was still during school term and Dumbledore had left Hogwarts to come and see her? To put the pieces together, London read his intentions and saw that he wished to discuss her gift.

"Okay." Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands together happily.

"Excellent," he said as he stood. "I'll have her back by about five." Sirius didn't make a sound, but raised his bottle in answer. "This way please London." Dumbledore gestured towards the door. With a quick look at Sirius, who winked at her, London hurried out of the door, with Dumbledore following closely behind.

Once outside, London took a deep breath, inhaling as much fresh air as she could. She had been stuck inside for almost four months and had begun to feel a little claustrophobic around month two. Dumbledore obviously sensed this as he chose that moment to comment on the beautiful weather they were experiencing; despite the fact it was winter.

"It is strange," replied London hesitantly. Being here with Dumbledore reminded her of the conversations she used to have with her Dad, when he told her not to get her hopes up that Dumbledore would ever talk to her. She gave a small chuckle which she tried to turn into a cough.

"What shall we do today?" asked Dumbledore happily. He was completely at ease and appeared to be unaware of how nervous London felt.

"I don't know sir," she replied quietly.

"Come now! You must have something you would like to do!" London shook her head in response.

"How about we take a trip to the London Eye? We aren't very far. Only a few hours walk." Confused, London glanced at Dumbledore and was rewarded with a smile. "I would like to talk to you and would prefer to do it without fear of being overheard." London shrugged her shoulders and allowed him to lead the way.

They walked in silence for a while. London's eyes darted from side to side as she remembered what Dumbledore had told her almost four months ago about how the Death Eater's may attempt to kidnap her.

"You do not need to fear London; you are in no danger today."

"Why?"

"You are with me." London relaxed a little and began to enjoy the fresh air. She listened to the birds calling softly in the distance and watched as muggle children played soccer in the parks they past. It reminded her of the park near her house, the one with the lake and the ducks that she and Ella would feed with the crusts of their bread.

They continued walking for about ten minutes until Dumbledore began to hum. London listened to the tune but it wasn't one she recognised. As they walked, London thought about what Dumbledore might say about her gift. It must be important if he had left Hogwarts for it. She had just worked up the courage to ask him when Dumbledore began to speak.

"Sherbet lemon?" he asked as he held one out to her. London looked at it, bewildered. "I feel I am rather fond of them," he said, answering her unasked question. She took it and unwrapped it carefully. When she place it in her mouth and began sucking on it her face twisted as the sourness of the lemon squirted into her mouth, only to be replaced moments later by the sweetness of the sherbet.

"Yes I'm afraid they are rather sour," Dumbledore commented as he took in her puckered up face.

"Just a bit," London gasped as she tried to get the sour sensation out of her mouth. They walked in silence after the sherbet lemon incident and didn't speak again until they got to the London Eye.

"Hmm, bit of a line up," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "Perhaps I ought to speed things up yes?" London smiled and nodded her head eagerly. She didn't want to stand in a line for an hour, plus she wanted to see more magic. Together they hurried to the front of the line, Dumbledore drawing his wand as they went. He kept the wand hidden from sight, but London knew he would be able to confund the man who was letting people on to allow them to jump the queue.

"Hey hold up there you!" said the man. Dumbledore pointed his wand at him ever so slightly and whispered, "confundus," before stowing his wand away and winking at London. "I believe you were about to let us on?" asked Dumbledore politely.

"Yes," said the man slowly as he waved them on. The muggles in the line began shouting at the man saying they'd been lining up for close to an hour and it wasn't fair that London and Dumbledore were able to get on straight away, but the man shouted himself hoarse telling everyone that they had no business contradicting him and that if they wanted a ride on the Eye they would have to shut their mouths.

As the Eye began to move London rushed to one side of the glass to look out at the city. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

"London, please take a seat," came Dumbledore's voice from behind her. London took a deep breath before turning to sit on the lone seat in their carriage. They had gotten a carriage to themselves because Dumbledore had confunded the man in charge.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I have brought you here today, yes?" he asked.

"Not really," London replied apologetically. "I read your intentions." Dumbledore smiled.

"I thought you might have. What do I wish to discuss with you?"

"My gift mostly."

"And?"

"And the books you asked me to read." Dumbledore nodded, pleased with what she had told him.

"Did you learn anything from the book?" London nodded, although she had to think for a moment exactly what she had learnt.

"I did have a question though," she said. Dumbledore looked at her expectantly. "Hermione told me that she had never heard of a gift like mine before, so how could there have been a book about it?"

"Although Miss Granger may not have heard of your gift before, rest assured that there have been at least two others recorded who have shared in your gift. Chroniclus Punnet was one of the two, and he was able to study the gift and write a book for people like you."

"It was a really interesting book," London agreed. "As I was reading it I found that I could read deeper intentions, not just what people were about to do in the next few minutes. I remember about two months ago, just after I passed chapter sixteen I asked Mr Weasley why he was intending to buy a set of woman's dress robes and he told me that he wasn't planning on buying them for another three weeks. None of us could understand why I knew so far in advance, but then I remembered the book."

"Yes the book does teach you to read deeper intentions, rather than just the intentions on the surface. Eventually you will be able to read about a year into a person's intentions, but for now let us focus on honing your skills to a few months." Dumbledore finished speaking and clasped his hands together on his lap. London stared out of the window and thought about what he had told her.

She already felt like she was invading someone's privacy just reading a few minutes into their intentions, she wasn't sure if she could handle reading into a year.

"Um, sir?" she asked hesitantly after clearing her throat. Dumbledore smiled encouragingly and politely waited for her to continue. "Will I be able to see what people are going to do before they even think of it?"

"No you will not," he replied. "The gift of reading intentions means you can only see what someone is _intending_ to do. They have to have already decided on it and be planning it before you can read it." London nodded. That made sense.

"And, can I read how people are feeling at the time?"

"How someone is feeling at the time is often portrayed in their body language which anyone is able to interpret, however when someone is masking their feelings you shall be as clueless as the rest of us. There are some exceptions to this rule though, such as when a person is intending to feel a certain way about someone or something. These feelings you will be able to read, as well as a person's body language along with the rest of us."

London stared out of the glass at the city as she thought about what Dumbledore had said. As she thought she suddenly remembered what Sirius had said after Harry had first arrived at Grimmauld Place. _'We think Voldemort might be after something... something he didn't have last time_.' She looked up and found that Dumbledore was looking at her intently, as if he knew what she had just been thinking of.

"When Harry was first brought to Grimmauld Place, Sirius told him that You-Know-Who was searching for something, like a weapon, that he didn't have last time," she began slowly.

"Yes."

"Well, um, I was wondering if I was um-"

"You wish to know if you are the weapon?" London nodded.

"No London you are not the weapon that Lord Voldemort is searching for." London shivered as a cold chill went down her back at the mention of his name. "The weapon in question is significantly smaller in size and will be more difficult for him to obtain. You would however benefit him greatly so we will do all that we can to keep you safe."

London was about to reply when the door of the carriage opened to reveal a line of muggles waiting for their turn to ride the Eye. She couldn't believe that they had spent an hour talking about her gift.

"Off you get London," said Dumbledore kindly. London jumped down from the carriage and moved to one side to allow Dumbledore to get off as well. Together they moved away from the muggles and stood admiring the Eye from below. "Shall we head home?"

London nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but before she got the chance her stomach rumbled loudly. Dumbledore laughed as London wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Hungry London?" he asked with a smile. London nodded and smiled meekly in return. "Follow me," he said whilst walking towards the shops he could see in the distance. Leaving her hands wrapped around her stomach, London hurried after him. They walked that way until they came to an ice-cream store.

"I'll take a caramel sundae please," said Dumbledore to the man behind the counter.

"One caramel sundae coming up." The man disappeared through a door which London assumed led to the kitchen.

"Are you okay with a caramel sundae for lunch London?" London nodded eagerly. She loved caramel sundaes. She thought back to when her Dad would make them for her and Ella for dessert on special occasions.

"Here you are, one caramel sundae," said the man as he returned with one in his hand. He handed it over the counter to London. Dumbledore handed him the correct muggle money and steered London towards a table to sit at.

Once seated, London began to eat her sundae. She tried not to drip too much onto the table, but a sundae is generally messy to eat and she ended up getting it everywhere. Dumbledore didn't appear to notice as he was staring intently at a bird that had landed on the table next to them and was looking for crumbs.

When she had finished London used a napkin to wipe the extra caramel off her mouth before Dumbledore stood up and announced that they had to be heading back.

The walk home was silent as London had a full belly and Dumbledore apparently had nothing more to say. When they reached Grimmauld Place, London turned to Dumbledore and thanked him for a lovely day.

"You are most welcome London. Now, before you go I have one more thing to ask you."

"Yes?"

"I would like you to have some private lessons with me after Christmas." London's mouth fell open. The greatest Headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen was asking her to have private lessons with him before she had even started school. She knew that it must be about her gift and that she wouldn't actually be performing any magic, but she was excited nevertheless.

"Okay." Dumbledore smiled broadly.

"Excellent. Now in you go, I'm sure Sirius is waiting for you." He turned to leave but London called him back.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me what this is?" she asked as she held out her right hand. Dumbledore inspected it and saw a burn mark on her palm. "I thought it was a birthmark, but Mum told me that I didn't have it until we came home from the Albania trip when I was seven."

"This is the source of your power," said Dumbledore simply. "When Voldemort unintentionally taught you this gift he left his mark on you, just as he left a mark on Harry."

"Oh, so as long as I have this mark I will be able to read people's intentions?" Dumbledore nodded.

"I must be off so you need to get inside okay?" London nodded and headed inside the house. She stood in the doorway as she watched Dumbledore walk away. She waited until she heard the crack that meant he had disapparated before retreating inside and closing the door.

She could hear Sirius calling her from the kitchen and knew that he would want to know what Dumbledore had told her. She took a deep breath before heading down the stairs, ready to tell Sirius all about her gift.


	9. 1: Little Secret

"London, London wake up!" London groaned and buried her head in her pillow. "Come on London, this is no time to be messing around!" She lifted her head and opened her eyes slowly. Sirius was standing over her with panic in his eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"That doesn't matter, what does matter is that Mr Weasley has been attacked by a snake. Fred, George, Ron, Harry and Ginny will be here any minute," said Sirius urgently.

"What?" London sat up and rubbed the sleepy dust out of her eyes. "What do you mean attacked by a snake? How do they even know that?"

"I'm not sure but come on; we'll meet them in the kitchen." London jumped out of bed and threw on her dressing gown. She looked at Sirius and saw that he was still in the clothes he had been wearing that day. It didn't appear as though he had even tried to get to sleep.

It had been about a week since London had her day out with Dumbledore. In that time she had been attempting to perfect her skills by practicing on Sirius and on other members of the Order that dropped in for a visit, but no one had visited. Apart from the visit from Dumbledore, it had just been her, Sirius and Kreacher at Grimmauld Place for the last few weeks. London started to worry for Sirius, some of his intentions seemed a little reckless to her, but it wasn't her place to say.

They arrived in the kitchen and London sat down at the table. She was exhausted. One look at the clock on the mantle told her that it was well past midnight. She expected Sirius to sit down with her but one look at him told her he intended to pace while they waited.

"What are you doing?" asked Sirius sharply. London turned in her seat and saw Kreacher sneaking in through the door clutching something under his tunic.

"Nothing Master," came the croaky reply.

"Hand it over," Sirius said holding out his hand.

"Kreacher holds nothing Master." Sirius lunged at Kreacher and attempted to grab the item from his grasp. All of a sudden Fred, George, Ron, Harry and Ginny arrived, all clutching a kettle that London took to be a portkey. The four Weasley's looked a little shaken, and London saw that Harry wanted to disappear up to his bedroom and not be spoken too for the remainder of the time he had to spend at Grimmauld Place.

"GET OUT!" Sirius screamed at Kreacher who ran out of the room without hesitation. London read his intentions as he went and saw what he was planning to do. She wondered if she should tell Sirius, but decided that it was not the right time.

"What happened?" asked Sirius, his voice full of concern.

"Harry saw Dad get attacked by a giant snake in a dream," said Ron wearily. As he did, London made eye contact with Harry and for the second time felt her heart race and heard a soft hissing noise. When Harry broke the contact the feeling subsided, leaving London more confused than ever.

"What do you mean Harry saw your Father get attacked?"

"Yeah, I want to hear this one for myself," added Fred. The Weasley's and Sirius took seats around the table and faced Harry, waiting for him to tell them exactly what he saw. London looked at him very carefully and saw that he was intending on leaving some parts of his dream out. Curious, she decided to ask him later what he had left out.

"Well, like Ron said, I was dreaming and I saw your Dad asleep near a door. He was wearing an invisibility cloak, but it fell off and when it did a, giant snake began to attack him. That was all I saw before Ron and the others were able to wake me up." Harry looked at the floor and avoided everyone's gaze. He seemed to be ashamed of what he was telling them.

"Come on," said Fred standing up. "We're going to St Mungos. Sirius, can you lend us some clothes?"

"You can't just go tearing off to St Mungos!" exclaimed Sirius.

"Why not?" asked George loudly, standing up with brother. "He's our Dad!"

"Yes but how will you explain that you knew about his injuries before you were told? Before even your Mother was told?"

"Our Dad could be dead and you're worried about people wondering how we knew about his injuries?" yelled Fred angrily.

"We don't want to call attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of what is happening miles away from where he is. Just think of what the Ministry would make of that!"

"IT'S OUR DAD!" Just as London thought that an argument was going to break out, there was a flash of light and a golden feather and a piece of parchment appeared on the table.

"It's from Forkes," said Sirius somewhat quietly. Fred reached over and snatched the letter before anyone else could.

"It's from Mum. _I've just arrived. Dad is still alive. Stay where you are. Don't come to St Mungos until I come and get you. Mum_." Fred finished reading but continued to stare at the parchment.

"Still alive? But that makes it sound like-" George didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need too. Everyone knew what he was thinking, that it sounded as though Mr Weasley was hovering somewhere between life and death.

"Why don't we all just calm down?" asked Sirius. "Your Mum has told you to stay here and to wait for her to come and get you. You can all go upstairs to bed and I'll come and wake you if your Mum arrives." Fred began to shake his head.

"No way. We're waiting right here." Sirius shrugged his shoulders. London saw him exchange a glance with Harry and immediately knew what they were thinking. That they were intruders on the family grief. London felt the same but she sat next to Ginny all the same.

"Would anyone like a butterbeer while they wait?" No one answered him, but Sirius summoned seven butterbeers from the pantry to give everyone something to do while they waited. Most of the bottles remained untouched. Only Harry and Sirius were drinking from theirs.

As the minutes ticked on London thought about what would happen when Mrs Weasley arrived with news of Mr Weasley. She looked around and watched the Weasley's as they waited. George had his hand clenched tightly around his bottle of butterbeer but he hadn't opened it, Fred was still staring blankly at the note from Mrs Weasley, Ron had his head in his arms on the table and Ginny was curled up like a cat on her chair.

London yawned and rested her head in her hand. Her eyes began to close and she knew she was about to fall asleep. She was woken up only a few hours later by Mrs Weasley who had finally arrived at Grimmauld Place.

"How's Dad?" asked Fred as soon as his Mother had walked through the door.

"He was sleeping when I left him with Bill. They managed to stop the bleeding for now, but apparently there was something in the snake's fangs that caused the wounds to stay open. The Healer says he's going to be fine," Mrs Weasley replied wearily.

"That's great!" said Sirius cheerfully. "How about some breakfast? Kreacher! Kreacher? Where is that house elf?" London looked down at her feet. She knew where Kreacher had been planning to go when he left the room but she hadn't told anyone. "Never mind," continued Sirius, "he wouldn't have been much use to us anyway. Bacon and eggs for eight yes?"

Harry jumped up and hurried over to help Sirius begin cooking but Mrs Weasley caught his arm and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you Harry! If it weren't for you-," she broke off, as if unable to finish her sentence.

"It's okay Mrs Weasley," said Harry pulling away from her. Mrs Weasley wiped the tears from her eyes, took out her wand and began enchanting bacon to fry itself in a pan.

"Sirius? Can I speak to you?" asked Harry urgently.

"Of course," replied Sirius. He led Harry out of the room with London watching them go. She didn't get a chance to think too much about it before Mrs Weasley was asking her to help put some plates onto the table.

By the time Sirius and Harry got back breakfast was served and the eight of them were eating as quickly as they could.

"When you've finished breakfast, you can all go upstairs and take a nap. I'll wake you when it's time to go to St Mungos okay?" said Mrs Weasley. The Weasley's all nodded and the rest of the meal continued in silence.

When their plates were clean, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and Ginny retreated upstairs to the bedrooms they had stayed in over the summer. London waited, intending on telling Sirius exactly where Kreacher had gone, but she pulled out at the last minute. While she climbed the stairs to the room that she now shared with Ginny, she wondered if she should have told him.

"Of course not," she said to herself quietly. "It would only have worried him. Besides, Kreacher was only planning to go to the Malfoy's; it doesn't mean he actually went. House elves can't leave their Master's house anyway." As she climbed into bed she smiled. She had convinced herself that not telling Sirius about Kreacher was the right thing to do.

When she was woken a few hours later by Mrs Weasley she no longer felt guilty. Looking over she saw that Ginny's bed was already empty. Dressing quickly, she hurried downstairs and met up with everyone in the entrance hall.

"Oh good London you're here. We can get going," said Mrs Weasley. London looked around and saw that Tonks and Moody were escorting them to St Mungos. She waved goodbye to Sirius and followed Ginny out of the door and into the sunshine. Harry had a disillusionment charm on him which meant that London couldn't actually see him.

London kept close to Ginny on the walk over but she didn't say anything. Instead the group walked in silence as they made their way to the hospital. After it felt to London as though they'd been walking for hours, Tonks held up her hand and the group came to a halt.

"What are we doing here?" London whispered to Ginny. Ginny simply shrugged and stared at an ugly dummy standing in the window of a building with a sign that read, '_closed for refurbishment_.'

"We're here to see Arthur Weasley," said Tonks in a low voice. London looked on, wondering why Tonks was talking to a dummy. The dummy slowly nodded and beckoned with its hand. Without explanation, Tonks took hold of Ginny and London and walked straight through the glass.

When Tonks let go of her London gasped and looked around. There was no sign of the dummy or where it had stood; instead they stood in a grand lobby. There were wizards heading in all directions, some carrying clipboards, others needed to be supported by other wizards because one of their limbs was missing. London was mesmerised. She had only been to St Mungos once when she was little and so didn't really remember it.

"Come on you lot," said Mrs Weasley as she led them towards the Welcome Witch. The Welcome Witch pointed them in the right direction and they headed towards the elevator.

"Here we are," said Mrs Weasley, stopping in front of a door.

"We'll wait out here Molly," said Moody gruffly, "let him see the family first." Harry and London both took a step backwards but Mrs Weasley pulled them into the room.

"Don't be silly Harry dear, Arthur wants to thank you!" She didn't say anything to London, but London read that the adults intended to talk to Mr Weasley alone without the teenagers listening in.

"How are you feeling Arthur?" asked Mrs Weasley gently.

"I'm fine Molly. If only they could take these bandages off I'd be fine to go home," he replied.

"Where were you when you were attacked Dad?" asked Fred.

"Nowhere that concerns you," he replied.

"But, you must have been doing something for the Order weren't you?" asked George, lowering his voice.

"That's enough boys!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley sharply. "This is neither the time nor place to discuss this-"

"So you are going to tell us?" asked Ron.

"No!" replied both Mr and Mrs Weasley together.

"How about you all go out and wait in the corridor? Alastor and Tonks wish to speak with your Father." The teenagers and London all trudged out to the corridor and sent Moody and Tonks inside.

"Come on, I know you're here somewhere!" whispered Fred as he patted down his pockets. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he pulled out a pair of extendable ears.

"Quick, put them under the door," said George as he took one of the strings. Everyone took a string and held it to their ears. Harry was a little hesitant to do so but took one nevertheless.

"-did He even know that someone would be there?" Mrs Weasley was saying.

"I don't think he did Molly. Dumbledore thinks that he sent the snake there just to check it all out. When it saw Arthur there it did the first thing it could think of, it attacked him," replied Moody.

"How did Harry see it happen?" asked Tonks, her voice full of concern. "I'm not saying it was a bad thing that he saved Arthur, but why was he able to see it?"

"Well no one's quite sure, but if You-Know-Who is possessing Potter, then-" Harry pulled the string out of his ear. London looked at him and read his intentions. Before she could do anything about it the extendable ear was pulled from her ear.

"Sorry London, the adults are coming," said Fred. London nodded and continued to watch Harry.

"Ready to go?" asked Mrs Weasley as she emerged from the room.

"Are we coming back?" asked Ginny.

"Yes of course dear," replied Mrs Weasley as she began shuffling them towards the elevator. "We'll come back in a few days."

The walk home was more cheerful than the walk there. The only one who London could tell wasn't talking was Harry, but she couldn't see him either because of the charm that Moody insisted on putting on him.

When they got home Mrs Weasley directed everyone down to the kitchen to get dinner ready. London watched as Harry retreated quietly up to his room. Concerned, she read his intentions and saw he was intending to leave. Although she knew he wouldn't like it, she followed him up to his room.

"Harry?" she asked timidly, poking her head into the room. "Can I talk to you?"

"Not now London. I'm busy," he said roughly.

"Harry I can read people's intentions remember? I know that you're planning to run away," she replied with her hands on her hips.

"London, I can't stay here. What if I turn into the snake in the middle of the night and attack Ron? Or anyone else in the house? I could attack you!" he said angrily.

"Harry you're not the weapon that You-Know-Who is looking for." Harry stopped packing and looked up at her in surprise.

"How do you know that?"

"I asked Dumbledore about a week ago if I was the weapon, you know, because of my gift? Well, he told me that I wasn't the weapon, and that it was significantly smaller than me. So if I'm not the weapon, you can't be it either," she replied. Harry sat down on his bed.

"What do you think it is?" London shrugged.

"I don't know, and it's not really my place to know." Leaving Harry to unpack his things, London retreated downstairs. As she passed the house elf heads on the wall she thought of Kreacher, and how she hadn't seen him since Sirius had ordered him out.

"He disappears all the time," she told herself quietly. "Just because I haven't seen him doesn't mean I should worry." But something in the back of her mind told her that she should. It's a shame that was the voice she always ignored.


	10. 1: Christmas Cheer

"Hermione!" cried London as she wrapped her into a hug.

"How are you London?" asked Hermione with a laugh. London pulled away and stared up at Hermione. Hermione and Ginny were the ones she had missed the most while they were at Hogwarts and she was stuck at Grimmauld Place. When she had heard that the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were going to be joining her and Sirius for Christmas she was thrilled. Even Sirius had begun to hang up Christmas decorations around the house to show he was excited.

"I'm good," replied London mirroring Hermione's smile. "It's been a little boring here at Grimmauld Place but I've been entertaining myself."

"What have you been doing?"

"Well-" began London as she bent down to pick up Hermione's school bag. Hermione carried her trunk and the two of them made their way up to the room they and Ginny would be sharing for the Christmas holidays. "Mostly I've been reading. Dumbledore gave me a book to read about intentions, and that one took me about a month and a half to finish. It's just so thick!"

"Dumbledore gave you a book about reading people's intentions?" Hermione asked. London nodded.

"Yeah, I learnt lots. I can now read about three months into a person's intentions." Hermione raised her eyebrow.

"Can I borrow this book London?" she asked casually.

"Sure!" Hermione smiled.

"Excellent. Now, what else have you been doing?" As Hermione unpacked London told her about everything she had been doing since the teenagers had left for Hogwarts, and in turn Hermione told her what she and the others had been up to at school.

"You started a Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione nodded as she placed a photo of her parents on her bedside table. "Did Sirius know about this?"

"Yes. The whole Order found out." London frowned.

"I wonder why nobody told me." Hermione looked at the ten year old sitting on the bed opposite from her. She had grown up so much since Hermione had first met her about four months ago.

"Come on," said Hermione smiling, "let's go down and get some lunch."

"Okay," said London as she bounced off the bed. "I think Mrs Weasley said we'd be going to see Mr Weasley after lunch anyway." The two girls left the room together and headed down to the kitchen where everyone was sitting eating sandwiches.

"Oh good, girls you're here," said Mrs Weasley. "I was just about to send someone up to get you. Hurry and eat your sandwiches, I want to be out of here in about half an hour."

London and Hermione quickly sat down and ate their lunch with the others. When everyone was done Mrs Weasley waved her wand to send the plates flying into the sink.

"Is everyone ready to go?" she asked loudly over the noise that had erupted as people had swallowed their last bite. There was a loud scraping of chairs as everyone stood up and made their way to the hall.

The walk to St Mungos was quite loud as everyone had something they wanted to say. London walked with Ginny and the twins as Hermione was talking in hushed tones with Harry and Ron.

"Did you miss us?" asked Fred and George in unison, each of them taking one of London's arms. London giggled as she tried to get her arms free.

"Of course I did. It's been boring at Grimmauld Place without you two apparating everywhere."

"Peaceful is the word I would have used," said Ginny.

"Who asked you?" asked Fred, pushing his little sister playfully with his free hand. Ginny pushed back, causing London and George to almost fall over each other.

"Careful up there you lot," called Mrs Weasley. Fred and George let go of London and were well behaved for the rest of the trip.

They arrived at St Mungos and made their way up to Mr Weasley's room where he reluctantly informed them all of his 'experiment' with stitches.

"YOU DID WHAT?" screeched Mrs Weasley loudly.

"Uh, does anyone fancy a cup of tea?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, um, I do," said Ron quickly, "you coming?" he asked Hermione. Hermione nodded and the three of them, followed by London and Ginny left the room. Fred and George stayed behind as one of their favourite activities was watching their Mum yell. They were always saying it was fun provided it wasn't them she was yelling at.

"Which floor is the tea room on?"asked Ron when they reached the elevator.

"Fifth I think," replied Harry. The elevator arrived and they all piled in. When it stopped they got and looked around.

"Is this the fifth floor?" asked Hermione as she looked for a sign to tell her.

"No, I think it's the fourth," said Ginny as she spied ward doors.

"Hello. Are you here for some autographs?" came a voice from their left.

"But that sounds like-" began Ron quietly.

"Professor Lockhart!" cried Hermione. The group turned to face former Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart who was staring at them with an impatient look on his face.

"Come on, come on I haven't got all day. I can do joined up writing now you know," he said in a gleeful tone.

"Gilderoy!" exclaimed a Nurse as she approached them. "You naughty boy where have you been?"

"I've been talking to these people. They all want autographs. Won't take no for an answer."

"Oh Gilderoy you have visitors how wonderful!" she turned from him and began addressing the teens. "He never has visitors the poor lad. He used to be very famous once, but as you can see he lost his memory a while back, been here ever since." She finished speaking and gazed up at him fondly.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." The Nurse took Lockhart by the arm and led him into a ward off to the right, indicating for the others to follow.

"We'll stay for a little while but then we're going okay?" whispered Harry, loud enough so everyone but Lockhart and the Nurse could hear him.

They entered the ward only to find that the Nurse had already settled Lockhart on his bed and was walking away to tend to other patients.

"Now, how many autographs would you like?" asked Lockhart as he got a quill from beside his bed. "I can do lots and then you can give them out to all of your friends."

"Can't we just go already?" said Ron to Hermione.

"No. We said-"

"Leaving already Mrs Longbottom?" said the Nurse loudly. London had never heard the name Longbottom before, but it was evident that the others had as they looked around for the Nurse who had said it.

"Neville!" said Ron loudly. The boy called Neville looked at his feet, evidently embarrassed by the sound of his name. "Who are you visiting Neville?" Ron continued loudly.

"Haven't you told your friends about your parents Neville?" asked Mrs Longbottom loudly. Neville mumbled something inaudible and continued to look at his feet. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you should be proud!"

"Sorry but, what should he be proud of?" asked Hermione politely.

"Neville's parents were tortured into insanity by a Death Eater called Bellatrix Lestrange. She tortured them for information, but they never gave in."

"Oh Neville," said Hermione quietly.

"Come on Neville, we have to leave," said Mrs Longbottom as she took his arm and began leading him from the room.

"See you at school," mumbled Neville as he followed his grandmother out of the room.

"I never knew," said Hermione.

"Neither did I," added Ginny.

"I did," said Harry sounding guilty. "Dumbledore told me but asked me not to tell anyone."

"Come on everyone! I've already done three autographs!" barked Lockhart from behind them. Reluctantly, the group turned to Lockhart and pretended to be happy with the autographs he gave them. They were only too happy when Hermione told them it was time to go.

"What's that you're holding?" asked Mrs Weasley curiously as they met up in the lobby.

"Nothing," said Ron as he shoved the autographs into a rubbish bin. The walk home was spent filling Fred and George in on what had happened with Gilderoy Lockhart, and in return they revealed what had happened during the argument between their parents.

Arriving home they found Grimmauld Place almost unrecognisable. Sirius had spent the time they were out cleaning, and putting up more Christmas decorations.

"Wow," breathed Hermione. "The house looks incredible!" Sirius beamed.

"Thanks Hermione. Now, how about we all head down to the kitchen for some dinner?" Everyone began making their way down to the kitchen but London grabbed Sirius's arm, asking him if she could have a word. He led her into the room with the family tree and closed the door.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Um, do you remember when Harry had his hearing?" Sirius nodded, the smile sliding from his face. "Well, do you remember-"

"London! I appreciate what you're trying to do but I'm a big boy who can take care of himself. I'm just happy to have company for Christmas."

"Okay," said London feeling embarrassed.

"Why don't you just focus on your gift?" he suggested kindly. "I heard that Dumbledore will be giving you some private lessons starting after Christmas." London looked at him, a questioning look on her face. "I hear things," he said, tapping his nose. London giggled.

"We should go," said London.

"Wait." London turned to look at Sirius. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"No," she replied quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. Can I go now?" Sirius nodded and London hurried from the room. She still wasn't sure why she didn't want to tell Sirius about Kreacher. He hadn't been seen since Harry and the others had arrived and London was almost positive that he wasn't in the house. She had a nagging feeling that she should tell someone, but she was afraid she would get into trouble for not telling anyone when it had first happened.

"Ah London, would you be able to help Ginny put these plates on the table?" asked Mrs Weasley as soon as London had entered the room.

"Of course Mrs Weasley." Dinner that night was fairly simple with everyone helping out. The chatter was still on Gilderoy Lockhart and Mr Weasley's speedy recovery so no one was really paying attention to how silent London was being.

She continued to be silent in the lead up to Christmas, though it wasn't just her guilt over Kreacher that was keeping her silent. This was the first year that she hadn't spent Christmas with her family, and it made her feel more homesick than ever.

"Are you alright London?" asked Hermione on Christmas Eve.

"Yeah, you've been really quiet lately," added Ginny.

"Are you missing your family?" London nodded, looking up from her eggnog. "It's hard to have a Christmas away from home; I imagine it would be worse when you're only ten years old."

"I just miss them, that's all."

"Have you sent them a card?" London nodded again, thinking of the long letter she had sent earlier that week. A package had arrived earlier that day and London was sure that it contained her Christmas presents.

"Come on everyone," said Mrs Weasley loudly, "bed."

The night's sleep was a restless one, plagued with unsettling dreams. When London woke up the next morning it was to find a pile of presents on the end of her bed. Looking around, she saw that Ginny and Hermione had piles on the ends of their beds, but neither of them were awake yet.

London reached over and looked at her watch. It was only five in the morning, too early for anyone else to be up. She lay back down against her pillows and closed her eyes, trying to get back to sleep. It worked, and she dozed for a couple of hours before waking up to find Hermione and Ginny looking through their presents.

"Merry Christmas London!" said Hermione as soon as she realised London was awake.

"Merry Christmas," London replied sleepily. She sat up and reached for the presents that were sitting on the end of her bed. The first one she grabbed was from her family. She ripped it open to reveal a golden locket and a photo album.

"Wow, who are those from?" asked Ginny who was holding a homemade sweater.

"My family," said London. She opened the photo album and saw that a note had been taped to the inside of the cover. She took it and read it silently.

'_Our dearest London,_

_We wish we could be with you, however for the sake of your safety it is best that we were not together this Christmas. We hope that you are enjoying yourself, although we know that you may be bored without muggle objects to keep you entertained. As well as your presents we have also enclosed some of your favourite books for you to read. Ella also sent you some drawings that she made for you. They are in the back of the photo album if you were wondering. _

_We gave you the photo album so that you might always look through it when you feel a little homesick. Please remember that we love you with all our hearts, and if we could have it any other way we would bring you home in a heartbeat. However, with your safety in mind you must stay where you are for a little while longer. We promise to bring you home as soon as we can._

_Much love,_

_Mum, Dad and Ella'_

"Come on London, hurry and open the rest of your gifts! We want to see what you get before we go down for breakfast!" said Ginny.

"Sorry," replied London.

"Don't listen to her London. Take your time opening your gifts London. Ginny can wait," stated Hermione quickly. London smiled and reached for another gift. By the time she had opened all her gifts there was a large pile of wrapping paper next to her bed.

"London, we're going to breakfast. Come and join us when you're ready," said Hermione as she and Ginny stood up to leave the room.

"Okay," she replied. Before London left for breakfast she looked through her presents one more time. From Mr and Mrs Weasley she got a homemade sweater and a box of cauldron cakes. Ron had got her a large box of bertie botts every flavour beans, Hermione and Ginny had given her a book full of muggle fairytales and Sirius and Lupin had gotten her _'Hogwarts, A History_,' having heard from her parents how much she loved Hogwarts.

Clasping her locket around her neck, London hurried from the room and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. When she arrived she saw that all of the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione were all wearing homemade sweaters like hers.

"Merry Christmas London!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley loudly when she noticed her enter the room.

"Merry Christmas Mrs Weasley. Merry Christmas everyone!" said London happily.

"Merry Christmas!" chorused everyone in return. London smiled and began making her way around the room, thanking everyone for their presents. When she reached Sirius she hesitated before hugging him tightly. She pulled away almost as soon as he began to hug her back and quickly hurried over to start a conversation with Ginny.

"You seem to have made quite a friend there," murmured Lupin to Sirius quietly.

"No," replied Sirius, "she just misses her family that's all."

"She really trusts you." Sirius shook his head.

"She's hiding something, not telling the whole truth."

"Truth about what?" Sirius paused, and tried to think about exactly what London might be hiding.

"I don't know. But if she trusts me as much as you think she does, I'm going to find out."


	11. 1: Lessons

"Try again London. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and really concentrate. It will soon come to you," said Dumbledore quietly. London closed her eyes briefly and tried to collect herself before she opened them and tried again.

It had been six weeks since Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys had returned to Hogwarts and four since Mrs Weasley had returned to her own home. Kreacher had been found by Sirius in the last few days before the teenagers had left and everyone except for Harry and London was happy with the answer he gave Sirius as to why he disappeared.

Almost immediately after everyone had left Dumbledore had arrived to begin his private lessons with London. In that first lesson he had explained to her that it was important that she learnt to use her gift to the full extent that she could if she were to be safe from He Must Not Be Named.

The lessons turned out to be nothing like London had expected. Each week London was made to attempt to read the intentions of different animals. It had started with simple animals such as a snail, they were fairly boring as it turned out all they intended to do was eat and crawl back inside their shells, before moving on to slightly harder animals.

"It's just as if you're learning transfiguration. You cannot possibly begin to transfigure larger animals until you have mastered smaller ones," he had said when she asked why she couldn't just start with a harder animal.

"I think, um, I think that she's intending to scratch you," said London as she stared at the kitten she was attempting to read the intentions of. Today was their sixth lesson and after successfully reading the intentions of a snail, a mouse and a guinea pig, Dumbledore had decided that London was ready to read the intentions of her kitten Nala.

"Excellent. And when is she intending to scratch me?" London resumed her staring at Nala and attempted to find out when she was going to scratch Dumbledore.

"Um, she's only intending to scratch you if you attempt to touch her or pick you up. She's perfectly happy where she is." Dumbledore smiled.

"Now, shall we see if you are correct?"

"But, if I am then Nala will scratch you!" exclaimed London.

"It is a small price I'm willing to pay to discover if you can truly read the intentions of your kitten." London watched uneasily as Dumbledore made to pick up Nala. Almost as soon as his hands were in swiping distance Nala reached out with her tiny paw and scratched Dumbledore on the back of his hand.

"Ah, excellent," said Dumbledore as he pulled his hand away and used his wand to dry off the blood. "I am quite confident that you are able to read the intentions of small animals. Next week we shall attempt a larger animal, perhaps we should try Buckbeak?"

"Last time I was up there with Sirius I read Buckbeak's intentions. All he intends to do is eat and sleep, he doesn't even want to try and get out of that room in order to stretch his wings!" replied London.

"Well we'll see about next week then. Now, I must be off. Professor McGonagall will be expecting me. Good day London. No need to see me off."

"Good day Professor." Dumbledore smiled before leaving the spare room they were practising in. London walked over to Nala and reached down to pick her up.

"What do you think Nala? Should I tell Dumbledore that I've been reading Kreacher's intentions? Should I tell someone about what Kreacher's intending to do in a couple of months?" London looked at Nala. "Oh come on that's not fair!" Reading Nala's intentions she saw that the kitten was intending to fall asleep in London's arms. "I was talking to you!" London put Nala back down and left the room to find Sirius.

"How did your lesson go?" he asked when she found him in the kitchen.

"It was fine. I read Nala's intentions," she replied as she took a seat at the long table.

"Did Dumbledore say when you would be practicing on humans?" London shook her head.

"He said that it is almost impossible to practice on humans because you can't really wait and see if what I say comes true. Especially if what I read they aren't intending to act on for a year."

"That seems fair. Now come on, let's have some lunch."

The next few months passed and London mastered reading intentions a little more each week. She could now control how far into the future she wanted to look and she knew exactly how far she looked. Before, when she looked into the future there was a good chance that she didn't even know she was doing it.

As the end of the school year approached there was talk of London returning to live with her family over the summer. Although no one spoke of it around her, London was able to use her gift to find out.

The only thing that troubled her was Kreacher. The more skilled she got at reading intentions the clearer his intentions seemed to become. They hadn't changed from a few months ago when he had been discovered lurking about in the attic yet London still hadn't told anyone. There had been a few times when she had set out to tell Sirius, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so. She was too afraid that she would be in trouble for keeping it a secret this long.

'He'll never be able to pull it off,' she constantly thought to herself. Sirius continued to take no notice of Kreacher and London tried her best to ignore him, but as the day he intended to use drew closer she couldn't help but watch him closely.

"What are you doing Kreacher?" she asked one evening. Even as she said it she read his intentions carefully and saw that he was intending to injure one of Buckbeak's wings.

"Nothing young mistress. Kreacher is cleaning," he replied in his gravelly voice.

"No you're not. You're going to hurt Buckbeak!" she exclaimed. Kreacher looked up at her, his expression blank but not entirely unreadable. "If you take another step up those stairs I'm going to tell Sirius!" Kreacher smiled showing his blackened teeth.

"No you won't," he chuckled as he moved his foot to a higher step. "If you were going to tell Master you would have done so a long time ago. You're too scared to tell him." London continued to stare at him with what she hoped was a threatening stare but she knew he was speaking the truth. She wouldn't be telling Sirius about this. If he or anyone found out that she had kept this hidden she would be in big trouble.

"If I don't tell Sirius then I'll have to stop you myself!" she said fiercely, trying to stop her voice from shaking. Kreacher chuckled again although this time louder.

"No one can stop me! My Mistress commands me to do this and I must do as my Mistress commands!" Before waiting for an answer, Kreacher turned and ran up the rest of the stairs to Buckbeak. London remained where she was; shock filled every bone in her body. She couldn't understand why he had been able to read her so well; after all she was the one with the gift, not him.

Shaking slightly she turned and made her way down to her bedroom. If what she had read in Kreacher's intentions was to happen tomorrow then it was looking like it would be a long day, and she wanted to be plenty rested for it.

The next morning London woke up to the feeling of guilt in her stomach. She knew what was coming; she just really hoped that she was wrong. She got out of bed slowly, as everything she did seemed to take just that little bit longer with the guilt in her stomach feeling like she had swallowed a huge weight. As she got dressed she spotted the locket her family had given her sitting on her nightstand. She grabbed it and fastened it around her neck. If ever there was a day for a good luck charm this would be it.

As she made her way down to the kitchen she looked around for Kreacher but he was nowhere to be seen. This didn't help the guilt in her stomach. If anything it made it worse as it added nerves to the weight.

"Morning London!" said Sirius in a cheerful voice as she entered the kitchen. She gave him a small smile in return before sitting at the table with her arms around her stomach. "Would you like some breakfast?" She shook her head, her stomach doing too many knots to bother putting any food in it. "You don't look good. Do you feel sick?" he asked as he reached across the table to feel her forehead.

London pulled away from his hand and shook her head. Sirius frowned but allowed her to sit in silence, instead focusing on the bag of dead rats and medical supplies he had in front of him.

"W-what's all that for?" asked London when she had found her voice.

"Buckbeak. He's hurt his wing so I'm going to spend the day trying to fix it. Would you like to help?" London stared at the bag of dead rats deep in thought. Spending time with Sirius and Buckbeak would mean that she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Kreacher, and she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to be around that many dead rats with her stomach doing somersaults.

"It's okay if you don't; I just thought you might like to help him out." London's gaze moved from the bag of rats to look at Sirius. 'Maybe it would be better to spend time with Sirius, at least for now,' she thought to herself as thoughts of Kreacher's plans circle around in her head.

"Okay, I'll come up and help you." Sirius smiled and gestured up the stairs with the hand not clutching the bag of rats. London stood up and began to follow him up to Buckbeak's room. On the way she kept her eye out for Kreacher, waiting for him to make his next move. She didn't see him and by the time they reached Buckbeak she felt uneasy by his absence.

"Just be careful. Let me go in first to calm him down. Do you remember how to approach a hippogriff?" asked Sirius as he opened the door a crack. London nodded. This wasn't the first time she had come to Buckbeak with Sirius. Sirius opened the door all the way and stared at Buckbeak. He bowed deeply and Buckbeak bowed his head in return. London did the same thing and was met with the same greeting. Both Sirius and London crept into the room and stood beside Buckbeak.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle the rats?" asked Sirius.

"Um-"

"It's okay if you can't," said Sirius quickly. "It's just it would easier to examine his wing if he was distracted by the rats. Do you think you can do it?" London stared at Buckbeak and concentrated on reading his intentions. She was hoping to find that he intended to stay still for Sirius as he examined the damage done to his wing, but that didn't appear to be the case.

"I can do it," she replied quietly. Sirius smiled and handed her the bag of rats. London took them and sat down in front of Buckbeak. Almost immediately he lifted his head and leaned in towards her. London giggled. "You can smell these can't you?" As Sirius began to examine the wing she opened the bag and pulled out a dead rat. She fed it to him and giggled at how he ate.

"How bad is it?" she asked as she fed Buckbeak another dead rat.

"It's not good," replied Sirius as Buckbeak gave a small squawk in pain. "But it's definitely fixable. By this evening Buckbeak should be as good as new."

The two of them spent the rest of the day up with Buckbeak. Sirius was bandaging his wing and London was distracting him by feeding him dead rats. By the time the bag was empty Sirius was done.

"There we are, good as new!" he said happily as he stepped back to admire his handiwork. Buckbeak turned his head to inspect the bandage on his wing. He snapped at it and tried to get it off but it was no use, Sirius had tied it on too tightly. "He won't be getting that one off until I take it off." London smiled. She was glad that they had helped Buckbeak out with his wing. "Come on, we're going down to the kitchen for some dinner."

"How can you be hungry?" asked London in disbelief as the two of them began making their way down the stairs.

"Maybe because we missed lunch?" replied Sirius.

"No, I mean because we spent the whole day around dead rats and a lot of blood."

"Iron stomach I guess." As they reached the kitchen they heard the front door open above them. "Oh good, they're here," said Sirius in relief.

"Who's here?" asked London. She didn't remember Sirius telling her anything about them having visitors.

"Mad-Eye, Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley. Didn't I tell you they'd be coming over?" London shook her head. "Oh, well they are." London rolled her eyes and sat down at the table, grabbing the book she had left there last night. If adults were coming over that would mean they would want to spend the whole time talking and would leave her out.

"Hello London," said Lupin as he took the seat across from her.

"Hi," she replied quietly.

"Come on," said Moody gruffly, "we haven't got a lot of time." The adults settled down and began talking while London immersed herself in her book. It wasn't long though before a bright silver light caused her to look up.

"What is that?" she asked loudly.

"Quiet London! We need to hear what it's saying," said Sirius quickly. London put down her book and continued to stare at it. It was large and appeared to have taken the shape of a doe. It was bright and was emitting a sort of silver light.

"The Dark Lord has planted an image in Potter's mind. He intends to fly to the Department of Mysteries to save Sirius from Death Eaters," said a voice that London recognised but couldn't quite figure out whose it was. The doe disappeared and the adults all stood up and began talking quickly.

"No Sirius," said Lupin forcefully. "If Harry believes that you are trapped there then you mustn't go. We need to show him that these visions aren't real."

"He's my Godson!" exclaimed Sirius angrily.

"I know and I promise we will bring him back in one piece." Sirius said nothing and simply watched as Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-Eye disappeared with a loud crack. As soon as they were gone Sirius turned to London, a look of urgency in his eyes.

"London, listen carefully. I-"

"You're going to follow them!" she cried.

"Yes-"

"But you can't! If you follow them then it'll happen!"

"Then what will happen?" London opened her mouth to reveal all about Kreacher but she stopped herself at the last second. Even now she couldn't tell him for fear of being in trouble. "London?"

"I- don't know! I just don't want anyone to get hurt!"

"Listen, I need you to stay here and tell Dumbledore everything okay? When he gets here you need to tell him everything. Do you understand?" London said nothing and just stared at him. "For goodness sake, KREACHER!" he bellowed. There was another loud crack and Kreacher appeared beside him.

"Yes Master?" London fixed Kreacher with a nasty stare, hoping to make him uncomfortable enough to tell the truth.

"Kreacher when Dumbledore gets here you need to tell him everything understand? Everything!"

"Yes Master, Kreacher will tell Dumbledore everything." Sirius nodded before turning back to London who tore her gaze away from Kreacher to look at him.

"Promise me that you'll stay here okay? Promise me you'll do what I asked you to do?"

"Why'd you ask Kreacher to do it?" Sirius hesitated.

"Just in case-"

"In case of what? You don't trust me do you? All because I'm only ten!" she cried.

"No! London we're wasting time. I have to go. Just promise me!"

"FINE! I promise!" Sirius nodded and turned on the spot to apparate, hoping that London would be able to tell Dumbledore, but as he vanished into the crushing darkness he felt a small hand close over around his arm. He wasn't making this journey alone.


	12. 1: Lost and Loved

"Get down!" screamed a voice from the right. Sirius dove onto the floor, pushing the person who had tagged along on his apparition with him as a jet of green light flew over their heads. As soon as they were clear he stood up and pulled out his wand, pointing it around as he helped the person up.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to wait at home!" he yelled as he shot a spell at an approaching death eater.

"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing!" replied an angry London. "I have my gift! Maybe I'm supposed to use- duck!" she reached out and grabbed Sirius's arm, pulling him to the ground with her as she saw what the death eater behind them was intending to do.

"London you are ten years old, this is not the place for you. Go and find somewhere to hide!" Sirius said roughly as he pulled her to her feet.

"FINE!' she bellowed loudly. Turning on the spot she stormed away from Sirius, ducking every now and then to avoid being hit by an oncoming spell.

"London?" She turned and saw that she was face to face with Hermione and Ginny. "What are you doing here?"

"Get down!" screamed London. The three girls ducked and a jet of light sailed over their heads. Hermione turned and shot a red spell at the death eater. It hit its mark and the death eater keeled over.

"Come on," said Hermione quickly, "we've got to get out of here!" She reached over and grabbed London's wrist, making to pull her away and out of sight but London pulled her arm out of Hermione's grip.

"NO! I can help, I know I can! I can see exactly what each and every death eater is intending to do! What spell they're intending to use, who they're intending to use it on and when they're intending to use it! I have to stay!" Hermione began shaking her head.

"No, London. The Order will handle it; they don't want us here and in the way." London stamped her foot and opened her mouth to reply, but a sudden movement from the right caught her attention.

"MOVE!" she cried and the three girls dove to the side. With the older girls distracted, London stood up and ran in the opposite direction. She had to get to Sirius. It was her fault that he was here and she had read the intentions of the death eater with a mess of hair and a maniacal laugh. She had been intending to kill him.

"London! Get down now!" screamed Tonks as London ran past her. She took no notice but simply pushed Tonks out of the way of the oncoming spell. "LONDON!" London ignored her and kept running. She couldn't see him anywhere and that scared her. Maybe she was too late.

"Harry!" cried Sirius. London's head shot in the direction of his voice and she began running towards it. Sirius came into view and London saw that he and Harry were fighting two death eaters together. She ducked behind a rock and found that she could see much of the room.

"RON BEHIND YOU!" she screamed as she noticed the death eater who was creeping up behind him. He turned and shot a spell at the death eater before he had even raised his wand.

"Thanks!" he yelled back. London ignored him and resumed scanning the room. Every time she saw a death eater creeping up on someone she screamed at them and they were able to turn and shoot a spell at the death eater before it was too late. She continuously stole glances at Sirius and Harry but they were too deep in the heat of battle to notice. She also kept an eye on the crazy death eater, the one who was intending to kill Sirius.

"LUPIN LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!" she yelled at Lupin. He didn't acknowledge her but turned and shot a spell at the death eater standing behind him. London tore her eyes away and scanned the room for the crazy one. She couldn't see her.

"Oh no," she said quietly. A movement from the right caught her eye, and she turned to see the crazy death eater making her way up behind Sirius.

"Nice one James!" she heard him yell at Harry. London bit her lip in frustration. She couldn't scream at Sirius because he wouldn't hear her. Even if he did she doubted that he'd listen. Making up her mind London ran out from behind her rock and headed straight for Sirius. She kept stealing glances at the crazy death eater to make sure she would make it in time.

London reached Sirius just as he sent a final spell at the death eater he was duelling. Without saying a word London jumped on top of Sirius and flattened him to the ground just as a jet of green light passed over their heads. She heard the crazy death eater scream in fury. Rolling off of Sirius she turned to see the death eater pointing her wand at her.

"No!" yelled Sirius as he used his wand to block the spell that was aimed at London. "No you will not kill her Bellatrix!" Bellatrix laughed and began shooting spells at London. Sirius stepped in front of her and blocked every one of them. The two of them began a fierce duel and London pressed herself up against the edge of a large veil to watch. She realised very quickly that Sirius was losing so she concentrated her gift on Bellatrix.

"Sirius, block left!" she yelled as she read Bellatrix's intentions. He did and the spell bounced off. Bellatrix snarled and shot more spells at him. "Duck!" yelled London again. Suddenly, she realised that she could help Sirius to win the duel. "Sirius! Do as I say! Duck left!" He did and the spell missed him by inches.

"Right! Duck right! Block left! Watch your head!" Keeping her eyes on Bellatrix, London saw Harry approach from the corner of her eye. He had his wand out in front of him and London flicked her eyes to him for a second to see what he was intending. "Harry don't!" she said quickly. "Duck left!"

"Don't what?" he asked harshly. "You're ten you don't tell me what to do!"

"Harry I – block right! – I can't watch Bellatrix for both of you! Please – right! Go right! – Please just let Sirius handle this!" Harry stared at her furiously but he turned and began firing spells at other death eaters from above. "Left! BLOCK LEFT!" Sirius and Bellatrix fought furiously, Sirius just that little bit ahead thanks to London's constant shouting. London smiled slightly. Maybe her coming was a good thing.

"Sirius! She's going to fake left! Block right! Block right!" he move his wand and stopped the spells before they made contact with his body.

"Thanks," he replied gruffly.

London kept her eyes on Bellatrix and fixated on her every room. She couldn't afford to get distracted. As she saw Bellatrix struggling to find her next move an agonising scream caught London's attention. She turned away from Bellatrix for a second to see where the noise had come from. Scanning the room quickly she saw Ginny on the ground clutching her ankle.

"NO!" screamed Harry. London turned in time to see Sirius fall through the veiled archway, the ghost of a smile still etched onto his face. She turned to see Bellatrix laughing with glee. While London was distracted she had killed him. She had killed Sirius. Bellatrix turned and ran from the room still laughing. London looked at Harry and saw he was intending to follow her.

"No! Harry! You can't follow her! She'll kill you!" she said quickly as she grabbed his arm. Harry tore his arm from her grip roughly and rounded on her.

"You were the one that was helping him win! If you hadn't been so stupid then he would have won!" He turned and ran after Bellatrix, leaving a stunned London behind.

"LONDON GET DOWN!" London ducked as yet another jet of light flew over her head. "Get over here now!" yelled the same voice. London stood up and ran in the direction of the voice, eventually running into Tonks who had Hermione, Ginny and a blonde girl London didn't recognise standing behind her.

"Come on, we're getting out of here," said Tonks over the noise of the battle.

"No! We can't! We have to stay and help the others!" argued London.

"London no. We're leaving now. Dumbledore's on his way and we're sending you all back to Hogwarts."

"Even London?" asked Hermione. Tonks shrugged and motioned for the girls to follow her. They made their way out of the room and caught up with Lupin who had Ron and Neville trailing behind him.

"Who's this?" asked the blonde girl indicating London.

"I'm-" started London but she was cut off by Lupin.

"No time, we'll do introductions later. Come on, we should be in the lobby. Dumbledore wants to send everyone back," he said in a hurry.

"Over here," called Mad-Eye gruffly. The small group made their way over to Mad-Eye who was holding two different objects in his hands. "Hurry. You five take this one, it'll take you back to Hogwarts," he said holding out the hairbrush in his hand. "London you take this one." He held a goblet out to her.

"Where will it take me? Why aren't I going to Hogwarts too?" asked London quickly.

"No questions. Just take it." London frowned but took the goblet. She waited for a few seconds before she was transported away from the others. When her feet found the ground again she fell forwards onto the floor.

"Ow!" she exclaimed loudly.

"What was that?" came a voice from the next room. "Did you hear something?" London heard footsteps coming towards her. She stood up quickly and looked around for something to defend herself with. As she looked she realised that the room looked familiar, like something she had seen once a long time ago.

"London?" London turned around and found herself face to face with her parents, both standing in the doorway with looks of shock plastered on their faces. None of them said anything, they just stood staring at each other. London read her parents intentions and could see they were struggling with the thought of either hugging her or hexing her.

"D-did Professor Dumbledore t-tell you that Death Eaters might try and pretend to be me?" she asked her parents timidly. It scared her to think that her Father might hex her at any moment.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a feather and a note appeared in front of London's Mother. After she and Andrew had read it, London re-read their intentions and burst into tears. Whatever the note had said it had caused her parents to believe that it was really her and she saw that they were intending to hug her.

"London!" cried Cynthia finally as she rushed forward to embrace her daughter. London said nothing but happily allowed her mother to wrap her arms around her tightly. Both were crying and neither of them broke the hug for a few solid minutes. Andrew joined the hug but broke away quickly, understanding that his wife and daughter needed some time together. When they finally broke away London sat on the couch and stared up at her parents.

"What now?" she asked. "What did the note say? Was it from Dumbledore?" Cynthia and Andrew exchanged a glance. This wasn't the girl they had sent to Grimmauld Place all those months ago. She was much braver than that girl and much smarter too.

"Yes London," replied Andrew as he and Cynthia took a seat opposite her, "the note was from Dumbledore."

"Well what did it say? Am I going back to Grimmauld Place? Or I am going somewhere else? Like Mrs Weasley's house? Or Hermione's?" Andrew shook his head.

"It didn't say anything." London's smile slid from her face.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"What are you doing here London? Kingsley came by a week ago and told us not to expect you here for at least another fortnight," asked Cynthia, her voice full of concern.

"Oh, um," London paused; she wasn't quite sure how she was meant to tell her parents all that had happened in the past few hours. She also wasn't sure if she wanted to. What if telling them put them in danger? "Well, I-" she broke off as the three of them heard knocking at the door.

"Wait here," said Andrew as he stood up and left the room. London climbed onto the couch and looked over the backrest so she would have a view of the front door. "Oh, Professor Dumbledore, come in, come in!" she heard her Father say from the door. Not long after, both men appeared in the doorway to the living room.

"London, Cynthia, this is-"

"Professor Dumbledore!" London exclaimed happily, cutting her Father off.

"Good morning London. I trust you are settling in well?" London nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent. Now, I can't stay long as there is plenty to be getting on with." Dumbledore took a seat in an armchair facing the rest of the family and began to explain what would happen next.

"Andrew, Cynthia, it would be news to you that last night six teenagers broke into the Ministry of Magic would it not?" Andrew and Cynthia both nodded. "Yes, it is highly unlikely that part of the story shall be published, however it has finally been accepted by the Minister that Lord Voldemort," everyone except Dumbledore gave a small jump at the sound of his name, "has returned. With that in mind I believe it will be safe for London to remain with you for the summer before she begins school in September."

"Really?" asked London excitedly.

"Yes. I believe that Voldemort will be laying low at the moment, pondering his next move now that the entire wizarding world knows of his return."

"So London will be here until she goes to Hogwarts?" asked Andrew slowly. Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you Professor Dumbledore."

"You are most welcome. Now I must be off. London? Would you like to walk me out?" Dumbledore rose from his seat and looked at London expectantly. London rose slowly, reading his intentions as she did. She realised that he wanted to talk about Sirius and this worried her slightly. She knew that Harry blamed her for Sirius's death, but did Dumbledore?

"I can assume that you have read my intentions and therefore already know what I wish to talk to you about?" asked Dumbledore quietly as soon as they had left the living room. London nodded. She wasn't sure how to explain what had happened. "I understand that Harry believes you are to blame for his death?" London remained silent as they reached the front door. "London it was not your fault that Sirius died. Many who were in the Department of Mysteries informed me of what happened between you, Sirius and Bellatrix last night, and I can tell you that it was not your fault."

"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice.

"I can't guarantee to convince Harry of the like. I'm afraid that he has just lost the closest thing he had to a parent and he is looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately he is torn between blaming Bellatrix and you."

"I, think that makes sense," stated London slowly as she tried to understand how Harry must be feeling.

"I don't expect you to understand London. You have not lost anyone you care for," London looked at her feet uncomfortably, "or perhaps you have." Finished Dumbledore as he watched her reaction. "At any rate you shall be safe here over the summer. I look forward to seeing you at school in September. Goodbye for now London."

"Goodbye." Dumbledore opened the door and walked out into the street. London stood in the doorway watching him go. When he had reached a safe distance he disapparated. London didn't close the door straight away, but instead looked out in the street. You-Know-Who was out there somewhere, possibly planning how best to kidnap her. She knew she should be frightened, and she was to a certain extent, but she was also excited to finally be going to Hogwarts. She couldn't wait to find out what new adventures were in store for her.

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**A/N - Well, we finally made it to the end of Part 1. Thank you so much to all of my amazing readers who have stuck with me during the two years I have spent writing this story. I'm really sorry that it took me so long to start updating regularly, but I hope you understand that I lead a busy life. I hope you have all enjoyed reading Part 1 as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Part 2 will be back on the 2nd of April, but since I love you guys so much I'll probably put up a sneak preview to chapter 13 before then. Love you all and thankyou once again!  
~ MileyHannahFan  
(Follow me on twitter for me 'Darkness Inside' updates. Link is on my profile!)**


	13. 2: Diagon Alley

**Here we are guys! Part 2 of The Darkness Inside. I really hope that you enjoy it! :D**

* * *

An owl soared in through the open window, startling London who was sitting at her desk reading _Hogwarts, A History_ for about the one hundredth time.

"Who could you be from?" she asked the owl as she stood up to get the letter from its leg. The owl hooted happily and took off as soon as London had the letter. She stared after it, thinking of the many letters she had received in the last couple of weeks from Hermione and the Weasleys. Although she loved hearing from them she couldn't wait until the letter was written with emerald ink, bearing the Hogwarts crest.

London looked at the letter in her hand and saw that it was written in regular black ink. She opened it and began to read.

'_Dear London, I hope you are well and that you are enjoying your summer. Harry and I are staying at the Weasley's for the last few weeks but we're all really excited to see you again once school goes back. Are you excited to finally be going to Hogwarts? I know how much you love hearing about it._

_Everyone says hello (even Harry!) and Mrs Weasley says sorry that she couldn't have you stay over the summer, but she's had a house full what with Fleur and Bill living here. Have you got your Hogwarts letter yet? Mine came today so I'm pretty sure that if you haven't got yours yet you'll get it today as well. Do you know what day you're going to Diagon Alley? Maybe we can meet there!_

_Hermione_'

London smiled as she finished the letter, partly because she was happy to hear from Hermione but partly because Hermione had mentioned that her Hogwarts letter would be coming today. She jumped up from her bed and went to the window. She looked out, turning her head in all directions to see if she could spot any owls heading her way. She couldn't which left her feeling a little disappointed. To pass the time she decided to reply to Hermione. She returned to her desk, pulled out some paper and her favourite purple sparkly pen and began to write.

'_Dear Hermione, It's really nice to hear from you again. This summer has been wonderful and relaxing. I love spending time with my family, especially after everything that happened last year. I'm really excited to see you all too. I can't wait for Hogwarts! I've been thinking about Hogwarts ever since my Dad mentioned it to me a few years ago. I still can't believe that this year I'll finally get to go!_

_Say hi to everyone for me and tell Mrs Weasley that I understand why she couldn't have me stay. Maybe next summer. No my Hogwarts letter hasn't come yet but I really hope that it comes soon! I don't know when I'm going to Diagon Alley yet but I'll send you an owl when I do and hopefully we can catch up._

_London_'

London leaned back and admired her finished letter. She waited for the ink to dry before folding it carefully and placing it in an envelope. She stole another glance out of the window, still no owls, before leaving her room to go find her Dad.

As she walked through the house London thought about what it would feel like to walk down the halls of Hogwarts, making her way through crowds of students and avoiding walking through the ghosts. As she thought she didn't look where she was going and so ended up walking straight into her Dad.

"Whoa, watch out London," he said with a chuckle.

"Dad, have any letters come for me?" asked London quickly.

"No. Why?"

"Oh. I got a letter from Hermione this morning and she told me that her Hogwarts letter had come and that mine should be coming today."

"Ah. Well I promise to let you know as soon as I see your letter."

"Thank you!" Andrew began to walk away but London called him back, remembering that it was him she wanted to find in the first place.

"Yeah?" he asked, his arms folded across his chest.

"Can I borrow Scar? I want to send Hermione a reply." Andrew smiled.

"Of course. He's in my study."

"Thanks!" London turned and quickly made her way to the study. "Hi Scar," she said softly once she had entered the room. A large brown owl came soaring down from the top of a cupboard to sit on her shoulder. A scar covered one of his eyes and it was for this reason that London had decided to name him Scar. That and her obsession with Disney. "Can you deliver a letter for me?" she asked. Scar gave a soft hoot and nipped her finger affectionately. London giggled and gave him the letter to hold in his mouth. "It's for Hermione." She took him outside and let him fly off. As he did, she noticed another owl, but this one was flying towards her.

London stuck her head back inside the house and yelled to her Dad that she thought her Hogwarts letter was here. She turned back around and watched as the owl got closer and closer until it had perched on the back of a lounge chair.

"Is that letter for me?" she asked trying to contain her excitement. She walked over to the owl and saw that the letter was written in emerald ink and that it was indeed for her. As soon as she had taken the letter from its' mouth the owl flew off, leaving London standing in her back garden clutching a letter she had been waiting for half her life.

"Don't just stand there looking at it!" said Andrew as he came up behind her. "Open it!" London turned the letter over in her hand and opened it carefully.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Yarrow,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"I met Professor McGonagall!" said London excitedly when she had finished reading the letter. "She was in the Order!"

"Why don't you read your book list London? It should be in the envelope still." London looked in the envelope and found the list that her Dad was talking about. She pulled it out and together they began to read.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Uniform

_First year students will require:_

_Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

_1 wand_

_ 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_ 1 set glass or crystal phials_

_ 1 telescope_

_ 1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

"When can we go to Diagon Alley and get my books and things?" asked London as soon as she had finished reading.

"Calm down London, we'll have to wait until your Mother and Ella can come too. That won't be for another couple of days. They went down to visit Grandma remember?" London frowned. She didn't want to wait. She wanted to get her books so that she could hurry and get to Hogwarts. "Why don't we write your letter?"

"What letter?" replied London.

"The letter that says you'll be accepting your place at Hogwarts. Honestly did you even read the letter?" asked Andrew with a smile.

"I must have missed that part."

"Look, how about I reply to the letter and you write a letter to send to Hermione once Scar gets back telling her when we're going to Diagon Alley."

"Okay!" London turned and ran inside to write her letter. Andrew waited for a few minutes before London stuck her head back out of the door. "Um, when are we going to Diagon Alley?" she asked. Andrew laughed loudly. That was so typical London.

"How about we go on Thursday?"

"Thursday? Will Mum and Ella be back by then?"

"They should be back early Wednesday."

"Then why can't we go on Wednesday? I want to get my books!" exclaimed London.

"We should let them rest London; they would have had a long drive." London frowned but she understood what her Dad was saying. She left again and headed back to her desk to write her letter to Hermione.

'_Dear Hermione, I'm sorry to write to you twice in one day. My Hogwarts letter just came and I just had to tell you what day we were planning on going to Diagon Alley. Dad says that we are probably going to go on Thursday after Mum and Ella get back. I was wondering if you were going to go then as well? I'd really like to catch up with you all before school goes back._

_London'_

"Now I just have to wait for Scar to come back," she said as she entered the living room where her Dad was sitting.

"Why don't you read a book while you wait," he replied without taking his eyes off of his newspaper. "I think that Mum bought you a new one yesterday."

"Really? Which book?" London put down her letter and looked around for the book her Dad had mentioned. She spotted it and smiled as she realised that it was the new Disney book she had been talking about. She picked it up and settled down next to her Dad to read, something she hadn't had the chance to do since she had left with Lupin and Kingsley all those months ago.

The next few days went by quickly. With her new book to distract her, London spent all her time reading and before she knew it her Mum and Ella were back from their Grandmother's.

"Did you have a good time at Grandma's?" asked London as she hugged her Mother tightly.

"Yes we did. Grandma asked about you. She said that she missed you," replied Cynthia.

"But I couldn't have gone. What if Grandma had seen the owl bring my Hogwarts letter arrive? She might have found out about magic!"

"It's okay honey. So Dad tells me that you want to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

"Well I did tell Hermione that we'd be going tomorrow."

"Alright then, we'll go tomorrow."

"Yay!" London bounced inside and tried to find something to do to pass the time before they headed off to Diagon Alley the following day.

"Come on Dad! Hurry up!" cried London as she made her way through the crowded streets towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Stay close London!" London stopped and waited for her family to catch up. "London you can't just go running off. You never know who could be watching. Professor Dumbledore made it very clear that You-Know-Who still wants you didn't he?" London looked at her feet. She hated whenever someone mentioned it. It made her feel like an outcast, like there was something wrong with her.

"Alright come on," Andrew took his eldest daughter's hand and led her through the leaky cauldron towards Diagon Alley for the first time.

"Dad?" asked London as they moved through the empty room. "Diagon Alley isn't going to look different is it? I mean, with all the warnings from the Ministry about You-Know-Who, it's still going to be like it was last year and the year before isn't it?" Andrew sighed. He hadn't been to Diagon Alley in a few years, what with there being no need, but he knew that it would not be like he remembered it.

"Why don't we find out together?" he replied cheerfully, praying his face didn't give him away. London took a deep breath as they approached the brick wall she had heard so much about. Andrew took out his wand and tapped the combination that would give them access to the Wizarding Street.

As the bricks twisted and turned to form themselves into an archway, London peered through them into the Alley beyond. Her heart sank. It was nothing like she had pictured. She had always thought it would be crawling with people, all bursting to get to their favourite stores. Instead she found it was nearly deserted. No one was on their own; everyone had formed tight-knit groups that moved from the few stores that remained open with looks of urgency on their faces, as if they couldn't wait to be home.

"This isn't how it was supposed to be," said London quietly as she stared around at the near empty street. "It was meant to be busy, and beautiful."

"I know sweetie, I know," replied Andrew as he placed a caring arm around her shoulders. Together they began to make their way to the various stores in which they would find all of London's school supplies.

"Have you seen them yet?" asked London for what seemed to Andrew and Cynthia to be the hundredth time.

"No London, we promise we'll tell you when we see them," they replied each time. Once they had gotten all of her books, robes and other necessities they began to make their way to Allivan's, the only wand shop that was left open.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get a wand from Ollivander's," said London sadly. "Has anyone found him?" Andrew and Cynthia looked at her with questioning looks. They wanted to know how she found out. "Hermione told me."

"No, no one's found him yet."

"I'm sure they – Hermione!" London broke off and ran over to the older girl who had turned at the sound of her name.

"London! It's so good to see you!"

"Mum! Dad! This is Hermione."

"Nice to finally meet you Mr and Mrs Yarrow," said Hermione as she shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you too, we've heard quite a bit about you." Hermione blushed slightly and looked at London.

"Everyone's in Fred and George's shop if you wanted to join us," she said.

"We've got to get my wand," replied London.

"And then I'm sorry but we really must be getting home," said Cynthia quickly. She didn't like being out and about when Dumbledore had said that someone might try and kidnap her daughter.

"Mum!" whined London loudly.

"I understand. I'll see you at school okay London? I'm a prefect remember, so I can help show you where to go." The two girls hugged and Hermione ducked back inside _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_.

"Come on, the wand shop is at the end."

London's face lit up with delight as they entered the wand shop. The boxes of wands piled as high as the ceiling was almost too much for her to handle. Each time Allivan handed her a wand she waved it enthusiastically, only to have to return it disappointed.

"How about you try this one?" Allivan held out another wand to her. London took it, her hopes beginning to dwindle when she found that the wand was perfect.

"Congratulations London!" exclaimed Andrew. "You have a wand!" London beamed with delight. She had her very own wand.

"Congratulations," said Allivan as he took the wand back from her to wrap it carefully in its box. "Strange wand this one."

"Why?" asked London at once.

"Well, the wand is made from the Rowan tree, is fifteen inches long and contains an essence of Fang of a Basilisk."

"Is that strange?"

"There are not many wands that contain an essence of something so closely related to the Dark Arts." Allivan handed her the box that contained her wand and accepted the money from Andrew. "Best of luck to you."

"Thank you." London kept quiet about her wand until the family returned home.

"Do you think the wand is close to the Dark Arts?" she asked Andrew as soon as they had settled down.

"I don't think so," he replied slowly, choosing his words carefully. "If it was then why would it have chosen you?" London frowned and stared at her new wand in earnest. "Why don't you get some sleep? It's been a long day."

Up in her room London propped her wand against her lamp and resumed her staring.

"What did he mean, best of luck?" she whispered before closing her eyes. As she began to drift off to sleep she began to hear a faint hissing noise. The same noise that she would hear when she made eye contact with someone. Someone with a lightning bolt scar.


	14. 2: Welcome to Hogwarts

The summer holidays passed fairly quickly after their trip to Diagon Alley. London spent most of her time pouring over her new spellbooks to find some of the spells her Father had shown her over the years. Every time she would come across one she would squeal with excitement and beg him to show her.

"Why don't you pack your trunk London?" he had asked one night after she had made him demonstrate the _alohomora_ charm. With her Mother's help London's trunk was packed overnight and was stuffed to the brim with school robes, muggle clothes, school books and supplies, as well as some of her favourite muggle storybooks for when she got homesick.

"Are you sure that's everything?" she asked her Mother worriedly.

"Yes London I'm sure we've got everything. We'll send you an owl if you forgot something." London smiled and looked down at her packed trunk.

"I can't believe this is finally it. Tomorrow, I'm finally going to Hogwarts!" she said excitedly.

"Well believe it tomorrow, right now you're going to bed."

"Mum! Five more minutes?"

"No, we can't have you oversleeping and missing the train tomorrow can we?" Accepting defeat London took one last look at her trunk before getting ready for bed. As she moved Nala off her pillow and crawled into bed she looked again at the wand that had chosen her. It had been puzzling her ever since she had brought it home from Diagon Alley and had heard the hissing noise.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered as her eyelids drooped. "Tomorrow I'll be at Hogwarts and it won't matter." London's eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. That night, her dreams were plagued by a large snake who followed her everywhere she went. By the time her Mother woke her the next morning she felt as if she had not slept at all.

"Are you feeling alright London?" asked her Mother worriedly. London nodded and offered her a small smile.

"Just a little tired. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Too excited about going to Hogwarts?" teased Andrew.

"Yeah," she lied. Andrew smiled before offering to take her trunk out to the car. "Thanks Dad."

"Come on, time for some breakfast," said Cynthia as she put some bread in the toaster.

The morning went by quickly, and before she knew it London was standing staring at the wall between platforms nine and ten.

"So, we just walk through the wall?" she asked Andrew. He nodded and offered her his hand. She took it gratefully and the two walked towards the wall. Just before they hit it London closed her eyes tightly.

"Open your eyes London," said Andrew. London opened her eyes and immediately her mouth dropped open.

"This is amazing!" she squealed happily. "Mum look! It's the Hogwarts Express!" she cried as her Mother and Ella appeared at her side.

"I know. Now, where do we go to put your trunk on the train?"

"I'll do that," said Andrew as he took the trolley from Cynthia. "You just take Nala and your school bag." London took them from her Father and followed him as he walked along the train and looked for a compartment to put her trunk in.

"London!" came a voice from behind them. London turned and saw the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione walking towards them.

"Hi everyone!" she said happily.

"London dear it's so good to see you," said Mrs Weasley as she pulled her into a hug.

"It's good to see you too Mrs Weasley. This is my Mum and my Dad."

"Nice to meet you," said Mrs Weasley as she shook the hands of London's parents.

"We've heard a lot about you," stated Andrew.

"Likewise." The adults turned to London who was chatting to Ginny.

"All aboard!" came the calls from various guards along the platform.

London turned from Ginny and looked at her family instead. She hugged each of them tightly and listened to the last minute instructions from her Mother.

"- and remember, you can always send us an owl if you feel homesick."

"I will Mum."

"I don't want you to go!" cried Ella suddenly as she attached herself to London.

"Ella, I'll be back for Christmas don't worry. I came back before summer when I told you I would didn't I?" Ella said nothing but allowed her sobs to continue. London looked to her Mother for help who promptly pried Ella's arms from around London's waist and picked her up.

"It's okay London, you go on." London hugged her parents one last time before boarding the train after Ginny. The door shut behind her and butterflies decided to take up residence in her stomach.

"Fancy trying to find a compartment?" asked Harry.

"Sorry Harry, I said I'd meet Dean," replied Ginny as she began to walk away. "See you later London!"

"Ron and I have to go to the Prefect compartment," said Hermione.

"Yeah, right," said Harry.

"Why don't you and London find a compartment and we'll come and join you later?" Harry glanced briefly at London before agreeing. "Perfect. We'll be back soon London." Hermione and Ron turned and walked away from them, leaving London alone with Harry.

"Come on then," he said gruffly and led the way down the aisle, pausing every now and then to peer into a compartment. Finally, he opened a door to one and asked the people inside if he and London could join them. Although she couldn't hear their answer, London assumed they said yes as Harry beckoned her to join them.

"London, this is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood," said Harry as she entered the compartment.

"Yeah, we met before the summer holidays." Harry looked at her sharply. London grew quiet and busied herself with lifting her trunk onto the rack. It took her awhile but she finally managed to hoist it up. As she was turning around she felt something slimy hit her back.

"What was that?" she asked loudly. The compartment door opened to reveal a very pretty girl standing looking at Harry.

"Oh, um, is – is this a bad time?" she asked, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Yeah I-" began Harry, his face growing red under the slime.

"I'll come back later," she said before ducking out of the compartment. Harry said nothing but handed the toad he was holding to Neville and pulled out his wand, saying a spell that cleaned all of the slime off of them.

"What was that sticky stuff?" asked London.

"Stinksap, from my new plant," replied Neville. Before London could answer the compartment door slid open again, only this time it was the trolley witch who was offering them sweets. London quickly dug into her school bag and pulled out some money.

"Could I have a chocolate frog and some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans?" she asked the trolley witch.

"Here you are dear," replied the witch as she handed over the sweets.

"Thank you." London handed over the correct money and went back to her seat so others could get to the trolley to buy sweets.

When the trolley witch left London opened her chocolate frog carefully, catching it in her hand and biting its head off before it could get away. The compartment door opened a third time just as she was finishing off the frog. Looking up she saw Ron and Hermione enter the compartment.

"Get this," said Ron as he caught the frog Harry threw at him. "Malfoy's not doing prefect duties this year."

"Really? Why?" Ron shrugged his shoulders, his mouth too full of chocolate to say anything.

"Well, there is one reason I can think of why he wouldn't be doing prefect duties-" began Harry slowly.

"Stop it Harry. What you're suggesting is completely ridiculous," said Hermione sharply.

"But think about it Hermione. If he was one then-"

"No Harry. I've told you that I don't know what I saw and that you need to let this go." Harry sighed.

"I need some air," he said before standing up and leaving the compartment.

"Who were you talking about?" asked London as soon as Harry was out of earshot.

"Oh I'm sorry London I forgot you wouldn't know," said Hermione apologetically. "Draco Malfoy is Lucious Malfoy's son."

"Lucious Malfoy? The one who was in the Department of Mysteries?" Hermione nodded. "But he's in Azkaban now right?"

"Yes he's in Azkaban, and everyone knows that Harry is the one who put him there. Draco isn't likely to let that slide. Now come on, let's talk about a more pleasant subject. Who finished all their holiday homework?" Ron groaned loudly.

"That's supposed to be more pleasant is it?" London giggled and looked at the card she had gotten with her chocolate frog.

"Hey I got Morgana!" she said loudly.

"Nice one," replied Ron. "I must have about five or six of her now."

"Don't change the subject Ron. Exactly how much of your homework did you complete?" asked Hermione.

"Exactly this much," he replied holding his finger and thumb together tightly.

The rest of the trip passed fairly quickly what with Hermione pestering Ron about not doing his homework, Neville stroking his plant fondly and Luna reading her copy of the _Quibbler_. London found herself sucking on Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans happily. As it got darker and the lights began to dim Hermione suggested that they all put their robes on. With some difficulty London extracted her robes from her trunk and slid them on.

"We will be arriving at Hogsmeade Station in five minutes. Please ensure all belongings are secure in trunks. Thank you."

"Are you excited London?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah. I'm a bit nervous though," replied London vaguely. Hermione smiled.

"Don't be. There'll be prefects around to help you out, Hagrid will take care of all the first-years and you'll make some friends in no time."

"Thanks."

"Hogsmeade Station," said the announcer. London swallowed. The butterflies in her stomach fluttering around until she felt almost nauseous.

"Come on," said Hermione kindly. Hermione helped London grab her trunk and together they pulled both their trunks out onto the platform.

"Where do we put our trunks now?" asked London.

"Just leave everything here, someone will bring it all in."

"Firs' yers o'er here!" came a cry in the distance. London looked up at Hermione.

"That's Hagrid. I'm not sure – did you meet Hagrid?" London shook her head.

"I think he came by but I didn't meet him no."

"Well, no matter, he'll take care of you and the other first years. Now off you go, we'll find you again later okay?" London nodded and headed over to where the voice was coming from.

"Firs' yers this way! Follo' me!" London hurriedly joined the crowd that was heading in the same direction as the voice.

"'Ere we are!" London looked around and finally caught a glimpse of who was speaking. It was a man who was at least double the height of her Father. He had a broad grin on his face and held a lantern in one hand.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid got into a boat on his own and left the first years to climb in awkwardly. London ended up in a boat with two boys and another girl. "Forward!" cried Hagrid and immediately the boats began sailing forwards by magic.

"Wow," breathed London. She looked around; trying to take in the sight of the huge lake they were sailing across.

"We'll be gettin' our firs' sightin' of Hogwarts in a sec," boomed Hagrid. London looked forwards and waited to get her first glimpse of the place she had been dreaming about since she was little.

As the boats passed under a tunnel and came out the other side London got her glimpse at Hogwarts. She gasped as she took in the large castle, silhouetted against the dark sky, lit only by the many fires that could be seen through the windows. It was more beautiful and more magnificent that she had ever imagined.

Before long the boats had stopped and everyone was climbing out onto a dock, all the while staring up at the castle in awe of its beauty.

"This way," said Hagrid as he beckoned them up a flight of stairs. London's head swivelled from side to side as she attempted to get a glimpse of everything there was to see. As she looked around she kept sneaking glances at some of the other first years, trying to see if they were doing the same as she was. She was pleased to see that they were and that she wasn't the only one who looked as though she were watching a game of Quidditch.

London became aware that the group was stopping and so focused back on the front of the group to avoid walking into anyone. When everyone had gathered around the large oak doors, Hagrid raised his large fist and knocked three times. London waited with bated breath for the doors to open. They did and revealed Professor McGonagall who was holding a roll of parchment.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said loudly so that the entire group could hear her. "Well don't just stand there, everyone in." The first years all hurried inside, shuffling together in a small pack. When everyone was inside, the oak doors closed behind them. London stared in earnest at the large doors from which many voices could be heard chattering away.

"The whole school must be in there!" she heard one girl whisper to another.

"In a few moments you will pass through these doors and enter the Great Hall where you shall be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Wait here, someone will come and fetch you when we are ready." Professor McGonagall left, leaving the first years alone once again.

"How do you think we get Sorted?" asked someone near London.

"Do you think we have to do magic in front of the whole school?" asked someone else. London smiled to herself. Most of these first years had probably never had an older sibling go to Hogwarts, and so probably didn't know about the Sorting Hat. As the others tried to decide how they would perform magic without knowing any spells, London thought about which house she would be sorted into.

'_It won't be Ravenclaw_,' she thought to herself, '_I'm nowhere near smart enough. I hope it's not Hufflepuff. Maybe I'll be in Gryffindor with Hermione and Ginny!_' Although she avoided thinking about it, in the back of her mind she was terrified she would be sorted into Slytherin, all because of the wand that had chosen her. If the wand was so closely related to the Dark Arts, wouldn't that mean she was likely to be sorted into the house that was most related to the Dark Arts? Before she could ponder it any further Professor McGonagall returned and announced that they were ready for them.

London took a deep breath and tried to calm her stomach. As Professor McGonagall made her way towards the doors that led into the Great Hall the butterflies in London's stomach grew stronger. This was it. This was the moment she was waiting for. Professor McGonagall lifted her wand and the doors opened slowly, spilling light onto the first years that were crowding together, none of them keen to be at the front.

"Come on," said Professor McGonagall. London looked around and saw that no one was going to move. Taking another deep breath she put one foot in front of the other and began to walk into the Great Hall.


	15. 2: The Sorting

As she walked across the Great Hall to the staff table where Professor Dumbledore was sitting beaming London looked around and tried to spot someone that she knew. It didn't take her long until she found the Gryffindor table and had spotted Hermione who smiled at her encouragingly. Happy that she had found someone she knew, London found herself looking forward at the staff table that was looming ahead.

"Stand in a line along here please," said Professor McGonagall when all of the first years had reached the front of the Great Hall. London watched with great interest as she placed a stool and a very old hat in front of the first years. '_That must be the Sorting Hat_,' she thought to herself, and sure enough as soon as she thought it the Hat opened its brim-like mouth and began to sing.

Although she was intrigued by what the Hat was saying, London found herself more terrified at the thought of it looking into her mind and sorting her into a house to really take in anything that it was saying. When it had finished she applauded with the rest of the school, then waited for Professor McGonagall to call her name.

"Belladonna, Grace!" London watched as a girl with jet black hair sat on the stool and had the Hat placed on her head. It didn't take long for the Sorting Hat to call out "GRYFFINDOR!" and it took even less time for her to walk over to the Gryffindor table and sit down.

"Bucan, Daniel!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Denrul, Lara!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

As the line of first years got shorter, the butterflies in London's stomach grew larger and larger until they threatened to rise up out of her throat.

"Yarrow, London!" London took a deep breath and climbed the two steps up to the stool. She sat down and waited for Professor McGonagall to place the Hat on her head. When she had the Hat slid down over eyes, leaving London in total darkness. She waited a few seconds and then a voice began to speak to her.

"Cares for others, determined to be the best, courage, a certain talent, hmm where to put you?" London closed her eyes and tried to stop her thoughts centering on her wand. "Oh but what's this? Your wand contains an Essence of Basilisk Fang? Interesting. Why would a wand such as that have chosen you?" London froze, her fingers gripping the sides of the stool tightly. She was going to be placed into Slytherin. She just knew it.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Hat was taken off her head and she blinked a few times to readjust her eyes to the brightness of the Great Hall. She became aware of the applause coming from the Gryffindor table and realised that the Hat had sorted her into Gryffindor. Smiling broadly she hurried down and sat next to Grace, and a few other first years who had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Well done," said Grace shyly.

"Yeah, you too," replied London. "I'm London by the way." Grace nodded.

"I know, I heard Professor McGonagall say your name. I'm Grace." London smiled.

"I know." Grace smiled back and the two girls began to giggle quietly. They became aware of the Hall becoming quieter and looked towards the staff table to see Professor Dumbledore standing up ready to make a speech.

"Old students and new students alike, welcome. I hope you all had a pleasant train ride. Now I know you must be hungry, so how about I save my speech for after the feast?" Dumbledore sat down and began to take some potatoes from a pot that had appeared in front of him.

London looked down at her own table and saw that food had appeared out of nowhere all along the table.

"Wow!" exclaimed Grace from beside her. London grinned and began to pile her plate with chicken, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, peas and carrots and gravy. As she ate she talked more to Grace in order to get to know her.

"So your Mum's a witch?" asked London. Grace nodded, her mouth full of potato.

"And your Dad's a muggle?"

"Yep," replied Grace as soon as she had swallowed. "My Mum told him just after he had proposed. She wanted to make sure he knew what she was getting into."

"Yeah my Dad did the same thing, except he used magic to propose to my Mum. He figured that if he was going to tell her he may as well throw in some good news at the same time." Grace laughed and London realised it had been a long time since she had been around someone her own age. Even over the summer she barely got to see any of her muggle friends because her parents were afraid of them finding out she had magic.

"London!" London turned in the direction of the voice and just managed to catch the bread roll that was thrown at her.

"Ah so you haven't lost your touch," said Ginny with a grin.

"And you haven't lost the ability to throw bread rolls across a room," replied London as she began to butter her roll.

"So, Gryffindor? Is that what you were expecting?" asked Ginny as she sat across from London and Grace.

"I don't know. I really wasn't sure which house I was going to be sorted into."

"Well, after what you did before the summer I would have been surprised if you weren't sorted into Gryffindor."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It takes real courage to do what you did." London avoided Ginny's gaze and instead concentrated on her gravy. It wasn't courage that had caused her to follow Sirius to the Department of Mysteries, it was her guilt. "Anyway, I'm really glad that you're in Gryffindor. Now you're in the same house as us!" London grinned. She was thrilled to be in Gryffindor with Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys.

"Oh, sorry. Ginny this is Grace. She's a first year just like me," said London, indicating Grace.

"Hi. Look, I better go. Dessert will be arriving soon. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Sure."

"Nice to meet you Grace!" called Ginny as she walked away.

"How do you know her?" asked Grace as soon as Ginny was out of earshot.

"Well, I um," London paused, unsure of how much she could tell Grace. She knew she couldn't tell her about the Order, and so couldn't tell her about why she had really be staying with the Weasleys.

"Well what?" asked Grace.

"I stayed with the Weasleys from last summer until just before the summer we just had."

"Oh, how come?"

"My, parents went away for the year, and so I had to stay with the Weasleys." Grace sat back, accepting London's story.

"Wow London look!" London looked at the table and saw what Grace was so awed about. The food on the table had been replaced with cakes, ice creams, jellies, fruits, yoghurts and all sorts of dessert food. London grinned and served herself a plate of chocolate pudding with ice cream, as well as putting some strawberries on a side plate with some chocolate.

"So, do you like chocolate?" asked Grace with a smile.

"Why? Can you tell?" The two girls dissolved into giggles and London realised that she had just made her first friend at Hogwarts. The thought made her smile and the smell of chocolate caused her to stop laughing and start eating. By the time she had finished her strawberries and chocolate she was feeling very full and very sleepy, but before she could go to bed she knew she would have to listen to Professor Dumbledore's speech. She looked up at the staff table, hoping to see him standing and about to make his speech.

"Now that we are all fed and watered it is time for a few words before retiring to our nice warm beds. First, our caretaker Mr Filch has asked me to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all. Second, he has also asked me to remind students that no magic is permitted in the hallways and that all products from a shop called _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes _has been banned along with a long list of other banned objects, the list of which can be viewed in Mr Filch's office.

Thirdly, I would like to take a moment to tell you all a story. Once, there was a student just like you. He walked these halls, ate in this hall, slept in these dormitories. His name was Tom Riddle." Whispering erupted in the hall when Dumbledore mentioned his name. He waited a few moments before continuing.

"Today I am sure you all know him by a different name. Every single one of you was searched upon your arrival, and our school will now play host to a number of aurors who have been placed here for your protection. Whilst you are here, no harm can come to you. Now, off to bed, ready for a long day of learning tomorrow."

The Hall erupted once again with noise as everyone hurried to get up to their dorms. Unsure of where to go, London and Grace stood together awkwardly until they heard someone call for first years. They hurried to the voice and London was relieved to find that it was Ron and Hermione calling for them.

"Hi London, come on everyone the common room is this way," said Hermione kindly as she led the way.

"You heard her," said Ron as he began herding the first years in Hermione's direction. "Glad to see you in Gryffindor London," he said to her as she passed him.

"Thanks."

"Is that one of the people you stayed with?" whispered Grace.

"Yeah, that's Ginny's brother Ron."

"What about the girl at the front?"

"That's Hermione. She's a friend of the Weasley's. She stayed with them during the summer and at Christmas time. So did Harry Potter."

"Really? The Harry Potter?" London looked at Grace amused.

"You don't believe that he's the Chosen One do you?" Grace looked at her feet.

"Well I don't know do I? All I know is what my parents tell me and what I read in the _Prophet_. I've never met him before, or spoken to someone who knows him."

"Trust me; he only really talks to his friends. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me."

"He doesn't sound very nice."

"No, he's nice enough, he's just – he doesn't really trust anyone."

"This is the most direct path to the dormitories," called Hermione from the front. "But be careful, as the staircases like to change." London looked up and saw that the staircase went on forever, but that it was constantly changing. "Come on this way." The Gryffindor first years followed Hermione up the staircase until they came to a portrait of a Fat Lady dressed in pink. "This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room," said Hermione. "You need a password to enter."

"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.

"_Mimbulus Mimbletonia_," replied Hermione confidently.

"In you go," said the Fat Lady as her portrait swung open to reveal a doorway. Hermione climbed in to the portrait hole and motioned for the first years to follow her.

"This is the Gryffindor Common Room. Most Gryffindor students spend their spare time here, however there are other places to go such as the library or-"

"Typical Hermione to bring up the library first," interrupted Ron. London began to giggle as Hermione folded her arms across her chest.

"Where do you suggest they spend their spare time Ronald?"

"Well they could go to the Quidditch Pitch-"

"Pointless except to watch the team practice."

"Or to the courtyard-"

"Professor Dumbledore has asked that students spend their time inside this year for their protection."

"Or the Great Hall-"

"Why would anyone want to spend time in the Great Hall?"

"Well what if-"

"Um, guys?" said London loudly. Both Ron and Hermione turned to look at her and caught sight of the first years standing behind her, puzzled as to the strange behaviour shown by their prefects. "Can you tell us where our dorms are now? That way you guys can argue over which one of you is right once we've all gone to bed." The first years standing behind London snickered and she smiled happily, although she knew she would never have been brave enough to say something like that if she didn't know the people she was saying it too.

"Yes of course," said Hermione sourly. "Boys, upstairs on your left. Girls the same on your right, all of your belongings will be in your rooms."

"Thank you," said London as she and Grace made their way to the dormitory that Hermione had pointed out.

"So what do you think?" asked Grace as she opened the door to the dormitory.

"This is amazing!" replied London excitedly as she took in the four poster beds that were placed evenly around the room. "How do we know which bed is ours?"

"I guess our things will be next to our bed," said Grace. London walked around the room, trying to find her trunk. When she did she was delighted to find that she was in the bed next to Grace.

"Are you excited for lessons tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm a bit nervous really," admitted Grace as she attempted to extract her pyjamas from her trunk.

"Don't be, I'm sure you'll do fine." London looked around and saw that three other girls had been sorted into Gryffindor with them. "Hi, I'm London. What are your names?" One girl with blonde curly hair turned to look at London.

"Tayla Evans."

"Nice to meet you. Are you excited for tomorrow?" Tayla shook her head and disappeared behind the curtains around her bed.

"What about you two? What were your names again?" The other two girls exchanged a small glance before disappearing behind their curtains.

"What was that about?" asked London when she turned back to Grace.

"I'm not sure. Maybe they feel intimidated by you?"

"Intimidated? Why would they be intimidated by me?" Grace shrugged.

"Well, you are friends with the Prefects, and you pretty much told them off in front of us. Plus you know Harry Potter, and I'm pretty sure that word is going to get out that you were at the Department of Mysteries before summer." London froze. No one was meant to know that.

"How do you know about that?"

"Everyone knows that Harry was there, and they know that five of his friends were there."

"But I'm not one of his friends!"

"I know, but my Mum works at the Ministry, and she was there that morning and she swore that she saw a ten year old with wavy blonde hair there. Then just before at dinner Ginny was talking about what you did before summer and how it needed courage. I just kind of put two and two together."

"Wow, you are very smart. I told you that you won't have any trouble with lessons tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Night London." London pulled her curtains shut and crawled into bed.

'_I made it. I'm finally here,_' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. But in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think about what the Sorting Hat had said about her wand. She pushed those thoughts away and instead focused on the lessons she would have the next day. Smiling, she fell asleep, her thoughts on Hogwarts and on the magic she would be learning.


	16. 2: First Lessons

"Here you are Miss Yarrow," said Professor McGonagall as she handed over London's timetable.

"Thanks Professor," replied London. As soon as Professor McGonagall had moved on to the next person London opened her timetable eagerly and searched through her subjects for the day.

"Look at today London," said Grace from beside her who was also scouring her own timetable with great interest.

"I know! Double charms this morning, single transfiguration and single potions after break then double defence against the dark arts after lunch. What a fantastic first day!" she squealed excitedly.

"Please keep your voice down and contain your excitement Miss Yarrow," called Professor McGonagall from where she was standing.

"Sorry Professor!"

"In trouble already?" asked Ron as he, Hermione and Harry came up behind them. London smiled, fully aware that Harry had every intention to leave.

"I was just excited about my timetable."

"Wow. Are you sure you and Hermione aren't twins?" he joked. Hermione frowned but London giggled happily.

"We better go," said London, eyeing Harry carefully. "We don't want to be late for our first lesson."

"See you squirt," said Ron as London and Grace hurried from the Great Hall.

"You know everyone's going to stare at you now don't you?" asked Grace as they tried to find their way to charms class.

"Why? Because I spoke to Ron and Hermione?" Grace nodded seriously.

"They're Harry Potter's best friends."

"I think you're being silly Grace. Look, I'll prove to you that no one is going to stare at me." London stopped and watched as students walked past her, not even blinking an eye. "See?" Grace frowned but followed London without saying another word.

After a few minutes the girls realised that the crowd was thinning and they worried that they hadn't found their classroom yet.

"London! You lost?" called Ginny from down the hall. London breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, we're trying to get to charms."

"Down the hall, up the steps on the right then it's the first door on the left."

"Thank you!" London and Grace turned and headed quickly in the direction Ginny had pointed. They arrived at charms just as Professor Flitwick was opening the door and letting everyone into class.

"Thank goodness for that," whispered London as they slid into their seats. "I did not want to be late." Grace nodded, her eyes on Professor Flitwick as he climbed a set of books to stand on.

"Welcome to your first charms lesson," squeaked the Professor with his wand in the air. "Now, I presume you all have a copy of _Magical Theory _by _Adalbert Waffling_?" The students nodded in response, each of them too afraid to say anything. "Excellent. Although I am sure that most of you are eager to pick up your wands and begin casting spells, you must first learn the theory behind the spells you are casting." Disappointed that she wouldn't be casting any spells in charms that day, London watched Professor Flitwick carefully and began to read his intentions.

"Now, would you all please turn to chapter one and begin to read. I encourage you to discuss with your neighbour anything you don't understand and try to understand it yourselves without my help first before calling me over." London turned to Grace as both girls got out their books and turned to the first chapter.

"How disappointing," said Grace quietly. "I was really looking forward to performing a spell this morning."

"Don't worry. We'll be performing magic next lesson, provided everyone completes the questions Professor Flitwick will set for homework," replied London, forgetting that Grace didn't know about her gift.

"Er London?" London looked up from her book and looked at Grace. "How could you possibly know that?" asked Grace.

"Oh, um," London stopped. She wasn't sure if she was meant to tell anyone about her gift, but she felt as though she could trust Grace and so began to tell her, although she left out some key points. "Listen, this is going to sound really weird and you can't tell anyone about it, but I can read people's intentions. I've been able to do so since I was about seven years old."

"Really? I've never heard of that before," replied Grace.

"Yeah I know. I've got a book about it. Apparently before me there have only been two others who have had the same gift."

"That's really cool. So you can just read anybody's intentions?" London nodded, her eyes darting to Professor Flitwick who was standing a little away from them, talking to a few boys from Hufflepuff. "Awesome."

"I know. Now we should probably finish reading the chapter so we can finish those questions later." The two girls looked down at their books and finished reading the chapter quickly. At the end of the lesson they wrote down the questions that Professor Flitwick set for homework, exchanging a glance as they did so.

Transfiguration and potions continued in much the same way as charms. All of the teachers were very strict in the fact that before a student could use magic they first needed to demonstrate that they understood the proper theory behind it. Professor Slughorn showed them a very interesting demonstration about the do's and don'ts of potion making, promising as he went that they would be able to brew their own potion in the next lesson they had.

That afternoon London and Grace lined up outside of the defence against the dark arts classroom with the other Gryffindor first years as well as the Slytherin first years. The door opened to reveal the silhouette of Professor Snape standing, towering over them all with his arms crossed menacingly across his chest.

"Enter."

The first years hurried inside and found seats, aware of how loudly the door closed behind them and of how silently Professor Snape made his way to the front of the room.

"Defence against the Dark Arts. Possibly the most important class you could be taking here at Hogwarts in these times. As you all are aware the Dark Lord has returned, putting each and every one of your lives in danger. Not paying attention in this classroom could be the difference between life and death out there."

London gulped. Having already met Professor Snape once before made him seem less menacing than perhaps how Grace and the other first years were seeing him, but that didn't make what he was saying any less terrifying.

"Get your books out and turn to page ten. Read the chapter on counter-curses then answer the following questions." He tapped the board once and ten questions appeared. "I will be collecting your answers at the end of the lesson. Now get to work." The room was silent except for the rustling of students getting their books out of their bags along with parchment, quills and inkpots. "Miss Yarrow, could I see you for a moment?" asked Snape quietly. London looked at Grace briefly before crossing to the front of the room to speak with the Professor.

"Yes sir?" she asked quietly once she had reached him.

"Professor Dumbledore has instructed for you to have some extra lessons outside of class to learn occlumency. After what happened with Potter before summer he does not want to risk the same happening to you. You shall meet me in my office in the dungeons at eight o'clock tonight and you shall tell no one of what you are learning. If anyone asks you will say you are having some extra help in this subject understood?" London nodded quickly, eager to return to her seat. Snape nodded once and indicated for her to sit down again. She did, aware that all eyes were on her.

When the bell went she was relieved to be heading back to the common room with Grace and the other first years.

"So what did Snape want?" asked Grace as they climbed the staircase to Gryffindor tower.

"Just to tell me that he needed to see me tonight in his office. Nothing to worry about," she added quickly when Grace opened her mouth to comment.

"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.

"_Mimbulus Mimbletonia_," replied London before Grace could say anything else. "Should we get started on the homework straightaway?" she asked. "Or do you want to go exploring first?"

"Shouldn't you do your homework?" replied Grace with her hands on her hips. "You do have to meet Snape later."

"True. Alright homework now, we can explore tomorrow, or on the weekend." The two girls sat down and pulled out their charms books, intending on doing the questions first when the portrait hole opened again to reveal some sixth years returning from their last lesson for the day. Among them were Ron and Hermione.

"Hi London," said Hermione as she sat across from her. "Good first day?"

"Yeah. I like all the teachers."

"Even Snape?" asked Ron. London shrugged. She didn't like or dislike Snape.

"Well we'll let you get back to your homework. Come on Ron," said Hermione as she pulled him up.

"Wait, where's Harry?" asked London.

"He's with Dumbledore," replied Ron as they walked away.

"Why'd you want to know?" asked Grace when Ron and Hermione were out of earshot. London shrugged.

"Curious I guess. Now come on, let's finish these questions." The two girls worked through their questions until they hit six o'clock.

"My stomachs rumbling," said Grace.

"Yeah me too. Do you want to grab some dinner?" replied London. "I should probably eat before I see Snape anyway. Grace nodded in agreement, and the two girls hurriedly gathered up their things and dumped them in the dormitory before exiting the common room and making their way down to the Great Hall.

"Hi," said a small voice from behind them when they entered the Great Hall. The two girls turned around to see a small girl with blonde hair standing behind them. She looked to London about Ella's age and was wearing the Gryffindor crest.

"Hi," replied London and Grace in unison.

"I'm London. What's your name?" asked London, flashing the girl a smile. The girl returned her smile timidly, her eyes darting quickly to London then to Grace then back to the floor.

"Alyss Sims," she replied quietly.

"Hey, you're in our grade right?" asked Grace. Alyss nodded quickly.

"Did you want to have dinner with us?" said London, sensing that Alyss was very nervous and that she may not have made many or any friends. Alyss nodded again and the three walked into the Great Hall together.

"So Alyss, how come you didn't talk to us last night?" asked London.

"Oh, um, Tayla Evans told us not to talk to you. She said you were weird." London raised her eyebrows.

"Why would she think I'm weird? She's never met me before!" Alyss shrugged.

"Sammy Greyson, that's the other girl in our dorm, she and I followed Tayla around today. She liked it but I didn't. I decided to see for myself if you really were weird."

"And what do you think?"

"You're not weird."

"Well you couldn't be more wrong," said Grace seriously. London and Alyss looked at her questioningly. "London is definitely weird; she's just weird in a good way." The three girls began to laugh loudly, ignoring the stares they were attracting from others who were eating their dinner.

"What's the time?" asked London when they were finished and heading back up to the common room.

Grace checked her watch. "Quarter past seven, give or take a few minutes."

"Good, I've still got plenty of time."

"Time to what?" asked Alyss.

"I've got to go and meet Snape tonight at eight. Nothing bad," added London quickly as Alyss opened her mouth to say something. When they entered the common room London was met by Harry who cornered her as she headed to her dorm.

"Come on," he said gruffly. London read his intentions and saw that he intended to take her down to Snape. Curious as to why but knowing he would never tell her she followed silently, fully aware that all Harry wanted to do was leave.

On the way down to the dungeons London tried to memorise every hall they walked down and every turn they took in the hope of being able to find her way back after the lesson.

"Here," said Harry finally as they came to a stop outside a door.

"How will I-"

"Dumbledore told me I had to come and get you in an hour. Since I've had these lessons before he thought it best if we talked about it together." Without another word Harry turned and left, leaving London standing alone in the cold dungeon. Even without using her gift she knew that Harry had no intention of sharing anything with her. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she raised her fist and knocked three times.

"Enter."

London turned the knob and entered the room silently, closing the door behind her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room was lit only by a few torches, leaving most of the room in total darkness.

"Your mind is weak," said Snape from the darkness. London swivelled her head around in an attempt to spot him. "The Dark Lord will be able to open you mind, accessing your thoughts and memories, twisting them into visions of horror. He will be able to plant false images in your mind, as is what occurred with Potter before summer. Your only hope is to close your mind, so the Dark Lord does not have access to these thoughts and memories." Snape stepped into the light, holding his wand high. "In these lessons I will attempt to open your mind, you will attempt to resist."

"But sir – I don't know any spells," said London.

"You will not be using a spell. You will be resisting using only your mind. Now let's begin. _Legilimens!_" London barely had a chance to collect herself when she felt her mind open, allowing Snape to poke around through her memories. Memories from her past began to shoot through her mind, she only caught glimpses.

"Stop it stop it!" she screeched loudly. Snape released his hold on her mind and the stream of memories stopped.

"You are wasting time yelling. Attempt to close your mind using will. Again. _Legilimens!_" Knowing what was coming London attempted to close her mind before Snape could enter. It worked for a fraction of a second but her defences were very weak and the stream of memories began again.

"Stop stop!"

"Don't yell. Focus on closing your mind. You were better prepared that time and managed to hold me off for a fraction of a second. It is a start but you must stop me from entering at all. Again!"

They worked at it until the hour was up and a knock came at the door indicating Harry had arrived.

"I shall see you in my office next Monday at eight o'clock Miss Yarrow. Be sure to empty your mind every night before you go to sleep. Be warned, I shall know if you do not." London nodded then hurried out of the room to where Harry was waiting. Without a word he took off, as if he wanted nothing more than to be anywhere than where he was.

London cleared her through loudly in an attempt to get his attention. "Harry?" she asked tentatively. He said nothing in response but she read his intentions and saw that he was intending on listening but pretending he wasn't. "If you don't like me then why are you really taking me to and from occlumency lessons? Don't say it's because of Dumbledore because you could have said no to him." Harry didn't reply and they continued in silence.

Just before they got to the common room Harry stopped walking and turned to London.

"I don't like saying no to Dumbledore. I'm doing this because he asked me too. That's it." He turned and said the password to the Fat Lady, entering the hidden room behind it. London stood staring after him, trying to understand the one person who had an idea of how she was feeling.


	17. 2: Lions and Snakes

"Come on Ron!" yelled London from her seat in the stands. It had been a few weeks since her first day at Hogwarts and she had settled in to the castle fine. It hadn't taken long before she, Grace and Alyss managed to find their way to and from their classrooms without getting lost. They were up to date with all their homework and had even found the time to explore some of the castle. London had had a few more occlumency lessons, each one becoming slightly easier than the last.

"Do you think he can do it?" asked Grace excitedly from beside her.

"I reckon he can," replied London. "He's been practicing enough." The three girls were sitting in the stands to the Quidditch pitch, watching the tryouts for the Gryffindor team with great interest.

After realising that she had made great friends in Grace and Alyss, London had introduced them both to the friends she had made last year when she was staying at Grimmauld Place. Although she twisted the truth a bit so she didn't tell them anything about the Order, occlumency or what she was taught by Dumbledore the year before, they both accepted the story she had told them and had become on first name basis with those that had been at the Department of Mysteries before summer.

"Oh Ginny why did you give him such a tricky shot?" asked Hermione quietly. London and her friends had joined Hermione and Luna Lovegood in the stands to watch the tryouts. They had watched the chaser tryouts first and were pleased when Ginny had made the team. London kept her eye on Harry, who was the captain and therefore the seeker of the team. She still didn't understand him but she was trying as hard as she could to figure him out.

"Good thing Cormac McGlagon only saved four goals isn't it?" stated Alyss. London looked at Hermione who had suddenly become very interested in a loose thread on her glove. Although no one else had heard it, London knew that Hermione had confounded Cormac so that he would miss the fifth shot by reading her intentions.

"Yes!" cried Grace as Ron saved his fifth shot in a row. "That's it isn't it? That means Ron's keeper!" Grace and Alyss began jumping up in the stands, awarding them with strange looks from a girl who had been sitting in front of them and who seemed to be very interested in Ron. Curious, London read her intentions and saw that she intended to make Ron her boyfriend at some point that year.

"Hermione," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Who's that girl sitting in front of us?"

"That's Lavender Brown. She's in Gryffindor in my year. Why?"

London shrugged. "No reason." She turned back to the pitch and saw Harry had gathered up his new team and was talking to them in earnest.

"Should we go down and congratulate Ginny and Ron?" asked Alyss. Hermione shook her head.

"No, we'll wait until they start heading in for lunch. We can catch up with them then."

"Okay," agreed Alyss. She and Grace began a discussion with Luna about how wrackspurts can affect someone's thinking in class. Hermione rolled her eyes before turning to London.

"So how do you like Hogwarts so far London?"

"I love it! It's everything I hoped it would be and more. The classes are great, the castle is amazing and everyone here is really lovely."

"Even the Slytherins?" London thought for a moment. She never really interacted with the Slytherins as they mostly kept to themselves.

"I never really talk to them so I wouldn't know if they were lovely or not."

"But you've seen them around haven't you?"

"Well yeah of course. A bit of a sullen bunch really."

"The team's leaving!" said Grace loudly, interrupting their conversation. Everyone jumped up and began to make their way back to the castle, running into the team as they went.

"Congratulations!" exclaimed London as soon as Ginny and Ron had come into view. She hugged Ginny tightly and fist pumped Ron.

"Thanks squirt" he replied as he went to ruffle her hair. She ducked out of the way and went to stand on the other side of Luna to avoid it.

"You joining us for lunch?" asked Hermione.

"Sorry, I said I'd find Dean once trials were done and I'd cleaned up," replied Ginny.

"We will, just give us a chance to clean off a bit," said Ron indicating himself and Harry. Hermione looked at the three younger girls who said they'd be happy to have lunch with them.

They entered the Great Hall, leaving the others to go and get freshened up and went to find seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Do you think the team will be a good one this year?" asked Grace as she poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice.

"They definitely have potential," replied Hermione vaguely. London followed the direction she was looking and saw that she was glaring at Lavender Brown intensely.

"I'll be right back," she said. "Bathroom." Jumping up she left the Great Hall and headed in the direction of the nearest bathroom. The halls were quiet with most students either in their common rooms or outside enjoying the last days of warmth before the cold took over. As she walked London became engrossed in her thoughts, thinking of the occlumency lesson she had had with Snape the previous Monday.

"_Stop it stop!" she cried as Snape broke through her mind once more._

"_You need to stop yelling! You are wasting time and energy by shouting at me. Shouting is not going to help you; you need to close your mind so I can't get through. Again! _Legilimens_!"_

_In the few seconds she had before the spell hit her, London closed her eyes and relaxed her mind, focusing on it being a barrier to keep Snape out. It worked and the spell couldn't penetrate. Snape didn't stop and after a few seconds London's head began to hurt. The pain became unbearable and she stopped concentrating on the barrier, allowing Snape entrance to her mind. She opened her mouth to ask him to stop but remembering what he had said about shouting she stopped herself and concentrated on closing her mind again. Before long Snape released the spell and she fell forwards onto the floor gasping._

"_That was better, much better. You managed to stop me for a few seconds, why did you stop?"_

"_My head – it hurt so much," gasped London._

"_Your mind is weak, you need to strengthen it and it will not hurt. Still, you have learnt enough that by closing your mind each night the Dark Lord will not be able to access your thoughts should he attempt to use occlumency on you. Truly powerful images will still be able to be planted in your mind however, such as the one he used on Potter before summer."_

As she walked she thought about what Snape had said about powerful images. What sorts of images would You-Know-Who want her to see? Not watching where she was going, London turned the corner and bumped into someone who was going the other way.

"Can't you look where you're going?" asked an angry voice. London looked up from where she had fallen and saw a boy with very blonde hair standing above her. His skin had a slight greyish tinge and to London he looked a little sick. "What are you looking at?" he hissed.

"Sorry I-"

"Can't look where you're going? Yeah I figured that one out on my own idiot." London got to her feet and looked straight at him. His eyes looked familiar to her but she couldn't place where she had seen them before. "Get out of my way." He pushed past her just as she realised where she knew them from.

"Malfoy!" she said snapping her fingers. The boy turned around and glared at her. "You must be Draco Malfoy right? Your Dad's Lucious Malfoy?"

"Why do you want to know? You're London Yarrow." London's eyes widened as she realised that Draco knew who she was. She looked at him and read his intentions, using what she learnt from Dumbledore to look a year into his intentions. She gasped as she took in what she read. "Stay away from me," he said in a voice that sounded almost scared. He took off down the hallway, leaving London thinking about what she had just learnt.

"Dumbledore," she whispered. "I have to tell Dumbledore." She began walking back towards the Great Hall, aware she had no clue where Dumbledore would be or even where his office was. As she entered the Great Hall she saw that Harry and Ron had joined the others at the Gryffindor table.

"London there you are!" said Hermione as London approached them. "You've been an awfully long time."

"Something came up. Harry can I talk to you?" Harry stared at her strangely. Usually they didn't interact except for once a week when he took her to her occlumency lessons. Stunned, he nodded briefly and allowed her to lead the way out of the Great Hall. "Do you know where Dumbledore's office is?" she asked as soon as they were away from everyone.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't have time to explain! It's to do with my gift. Please will you just take me there?" she pleaded. To save time she read his intentions and saw that he would do it. "Excellent you'll do it, now come on let's go!"

Still stunned, Harry turned and led the way up the staircase to Dumbledore's office. They walked in silence, London's urgency reflected in the speed at which she walked. When they arrived in front of a large gargoyle they stopped walking and London looked at Harry expectantly.

"Well?" she asked. "Now what?"

"Acid pops," replied Harry in a dull tone.

"What?" Harry said nothing but indicated the gargoyle as it began to move, revealing a staircase that London assumed led up to Dumbledore's office.

"Thank you Harry," she said before hurrying up the stairs. When she came to the top she found two large oak doors, not unlike those that led to the Great Hall. Not leaving time for her to get nervous, London raised her first and knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in!" came the polite call from inside. London pushed open the doors and entered the room to find Dumbledore sitting at his desk.

"Ah London," he said. "I see you've found your way to my office. Did Harry show you?" London nodded, unsure of whether she should close the door of not.

"Oh by all means close the door," said Dumbledore as he sensed her uncertainty. She did then moved to stand in front of Dumbledore at his desk. "Now, what was it you found your way up here for?" he asked.

"Well, I've been practicing my skills over the summer like you asked me too and just now I bumped into Draco Malfoy. I read his intentions and, I read that he – he's going to try and kill you!" she blurted out. Dumbledore looked at her carefully and leaned back in his chair, touching the tips of his fingers on his good hand with those on his bad hand.

"I am of course aware of young Mr Malfoy's predicament."

"You are? But I-" Dumbledore held up his good hand and London fell silent.

"I have my sources to tell me information such as this London. I am glad that you thought to bring this matter straight to me; however I must insist that you not worry. I would like to ask something of you though. I would like you to befriend Draco. Gain his trust; learn what he is doing, and attempt to stop him. Can you do that?"

"I – I don't know. Draco won't want to be friends with me, I was one of the people who caused his father to be thrown in Azkaban, and I'm friends with people he doesn't like."

"Just try. You might be surprised. Now off you pop, I must finish writing this letter and I'm sure you would like to enjoy the rest of this glorious day."

"See you later sir," she said as she left the room.

"Good day London." London left the room, closing the door behind her, her thoughts on Draco and the task the Dumbledore had set her. How was she ever going to befriend him when she was sure that he must hate her?

As the next few weeks went by London attempted to find Draco in order to befriend him. At every meal she looked over to the Slytherin table but hardly ever saw him, she attempted to find him in the overcrowded hallways during the day and even attempted to ask Ron and Hermione if they would know where he was.

As Christmas approached London realised she would not be able to befriend him. Instead she focused on her schoolwork, and on the upcoming Quidditch match. After the horrible incident that Hermione had told her about, she knew that the Gryffindor team was missing Katie Bell, one of their best chasers.

London walked down to the Quidditch pitch with Grace and Alyss, glad in red and gold to support their house. As they walked, laughing and talking loudly London caught a glimpse of sleek blonde hair walking the other way.

"I'll see you guys later," she said hurriedly and left to follow Draco before her friends could say a word. She followed him into the castle, trying to stay unnoticed. Most of the students were headed to the match and so the crowd thinned, making it easier for her to follow him. Unfortunately, that also made it easier for him to spot her.

"Why are you following me?" he asked angrily, allowing her to catch-up with him.

"I was wondering why you weren't heading down to the match like everyone else," she replied in what she hoped was a friendly tone.

"I have more important things to do than to watch a Quidditch match," he stated bitterly.

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"None of your business. Now get lost and leave me alone." He made to turn around and walk off but something caught his eye. "What is that?" he asked indicating the mark on the back of London's hand.

"Nothing. Just a birthmark," she said quickly, telling him what she told everyone. Draco's eyes travelled from the mark on her hand to her eyes. He stared at her for a moment before turning and walking away, leaving London feeling more confused than ever.


	18. 2: Home Again

"Goodbye! See you after Christmas!" called London as she waved goodbye to Harry, -Hermione and the Weasleys leaving platform nine and three quarters.

"You ready to go London?" asked Andrew.

London looked up at her Father, a broad grin on her face.

"Yeah okay."

"London!" London turned and saw Grace and Alyss coming towards her with their parents.

"Hi guys! Mum, Dad, these are my friends Grace Belladonna and Alyss Sims," said London. Her parents greeted her friends then introduced themselves to their parents. "I'm going to miss you guys over Christmas."

"I know me too," replied Grace. The three girls had become very close in the three and a bit months they had spent at Hogwarts. They did almost everything together, and it was only her occlumency lessons and knowing about the Order that London kept from them. She had told Alyss about her gift about a fortnight into their friendship. She had responded in very much the same way as Grace, claiming that the gift was weird but cool at the same time.

"Come on London, we've got to get back."

"Okay, see you guys after New Year." London hugged each of her friends tightly before turning and walking off with her family.

"So have you had fun at Hogwarts so far?" asked Cynthia as soon as they were in the car and heading home.

"Yes! It's even more amazing than I imagined it could be. My lessons are so much fun; I even know a few spells now! I can't show you though because Professor McGonagall says we're not supposed to perform magic outside of school until we come of age," replied London excitedly.

"Have you made many friends?"

"Well I made friends with Grace and Alyss. They're in Gryffindor like me. The other two first year girls in Gryffindor don't like me. Tayla and Sammy. They think I'm weird."

"I'm sure that don't think that sweetie," said Andrew without taking his eyes off the road.

"Yes they do, Alyss told me they do."

"Have you made friends from other houses?" asked Andrew, keen to change the topic slightly.

London shook her head. "No not really. There are a few people from Ravenclaw that I talk to sometimes in class. Carly, Dylan and Arnold, but I wouldn't really call us friends."

"You should try and make friends with people in other houses. I remember when I was in Hogwarts I had friends in all four houses."

"Even Slytherin?"

"Even Slytherin. One of my best friends was in Slytherin."

"Really?" Andrew nodded. "But I thought you were in Ravenclaw?"

"I was. That didn't mean I couldn't have a best friend from a different house."

"Tell me more about Quidditch London," said Cynthia. "Your Father's been trying to explain it to me but I just don't understand."

London giggled. "No you wouldn't. It's a game that you really have to see to understand properly. I told Dad that we should have gotten tickets to the world cup."

"After what happened at the world cup I'm glad we didn't get tickets," replied Andrew seriously. London thought back to what she had read about the world cup and realised she was glad they didn't go either.

"Home again home again!" sang Cynthia happily as they pulled into the driveway. "Ella should be getting home soon. We sent her to a friend's house while we were picking you up. Why don't you unpack and get settled while you wait?"

"Okay!" London bounded into the house happily. Andrew brought her trunk upstairs and she began to unpack it, leaving out a pile of washing for her Mother to do before she went back to Hogwarts.

"London! Ella's home!"

"London!" squealed Ella as she ran up the stairs.

"Little Miss Ella!" Ella jumped up and latched herself onto London, hugging her tightly. "How have you been?" asked London when she had out Ella down.

"Pretty good. I got Mrs McCarthy at school this year."

"I had her she's nice. Have you been having fun?"

Ella nodded quickly. "Yeah, but it's been boring being the only one here. I miss you being home."

"I miss being home too Ella. Don't worry, you'll be at Hogwarts in three years then we can be at Hogwarts together!" Ella smiled broadly and clapped her hands together happily. "Now, what do you want to do? I can play with you all you want until I go back to school."

"Can we play Disney dolls?" asked Ella timidly.

"Of course. Why don't you go and get them?" Ella ran out of the room to find the dolls for the game that London had made up when Ella was only four. The two of them had always loved Disney and London had decided to act out their favourite stories by having their dolls play as the characters. Ella loved the game and so London wasn't surprised that she had asked if they could play it.

They played together happily until Cynthia called them down for dinner. Dropping the dolls both girls raced downstairs to sit at the table. Although she loved the dinners cooked at Hogwarts London had missed her Mother's cooking. When everyone had full plates and had begun to eat Andrew once again brought up the topic of Hogwarts.

"Why don't you tell Ella all about Hogwarts?" he said indicating Ella who was smashing her peas in with her potatoes.

"Where would you like me to start?" asked London with a smile. Ella bit her lip, lost in concentration.

"The food!" she cried excitedly causing the rest of the family to laugh. Ella grinned although she didn't really understand why everyone was laughing.

"The food is really good," replied London in between mouthfuls, "we have special feasts at certain points during the year like the welcome feast, the Halloween feast, the Christmas feast and the farewell feast. Every other night it's just simple food. It tastes really good, but not as good as your food," she finished, placing a baby carrot in her mouth and smiling at her Mother.

"Oh really?" replied Cynthia. "You've never liked my cooking this much before." London shrugged.

"Isn't the saying something like you don't know what you've got until it's gone?"

"By gosh I think she's got it!" exclaimed Andrew. London and Ella dissolved into giggles and even Cynthia cracked a smile. By the time everyone's plates were clean London had high spirits from being back home with her family. As much as she adored going to Hogwarts she missed her family dearly when she was there.

"London, we've got a special dessert planned for you tonight as a coming home present," said Cynthia once she had cleared the table. "Ella do you want to help me grab it?" The two of them disappeared to get the 'special dessert' leaving London alone with her Father.

"Alright, what's wrong?" asked Andrew as soon as they were out of earshot. The question caught London off guard.

"Nothing," she replied quietly.

"Are you sure?" London nodded. She couldn't tell her Dad about Draco Malfoy's intentions. She hadn't told anyone except for Dumbledore and she wasn't planning on telling anyone else.

"Here it comes!" sang Cynthia. Ella ran into the room excitedly and London breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't have to come up with an excuse to give her Dad.

"Here you are London," said Cynthia as she placed a cake in front of her. London gasped in wonder. The cake was in the shape of a lion and was decorated in scarlet and gold.

"In celebration of your sorting into Gryffindor," said Andrew, a broad smile on his face.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed London happily. Cynthia smiled and cut off a piece of cake for London. As she ate her cake London thought about how her Dad had known that something was wrong, although she was determined not to tell him what.

Even as she looked around at the smiling faces of her family she couldn't help but think about Draco Malfoy, and how he had commented on the mark on the back of her hand. By the time London was ready to head off to bed she was lost in thought about Draco and what he could possibly be planning. '_Next term_' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes, '_I'll find out next term_'.

The house was dark. She held out a cautious hand and moved forward blindly until her hand made contact with a wall.

"Hello?" she called out timidly, her voice shattering the haunted silence that hung over the house. "I-is anyone there?" The echo of her words bounced around the walls, growing fainter until only the ghost of them remained. She began to walk slowly, using her hands to guide her way.

The hallway suddenly glowed brightly. She stumbled as her eyes attempted to adjust to the blinding light. As the light grew dimmer she was able to look around and realise where she was.

"Why-?" she asked slowly as she realised she stood in the hallway outside of her bedroom. "I must have been sleepwalking." She turned; ready to make her way back to bed when an ear-splitting shriek rang out from along the hall. "ELLA!" she yelled, beginning to run to her sister's room. When she arrived London looked around the room, terrified that her sister was missing.

"MUM! DAD!" she screamed loudly, as she backed out of the room and ran towards her parents. She burst into their room and looked around. Her parents weren't there.

"Loooonnnddooonn..." sang Ella faintly.

"Ella? Where are you?" London ran from her parents' room and made her way towards Ella's voice. "Ella? What-?" she trailed off as she realised there was no one in the house. Ella's voice had stopped. She was alone.

London sat up, her heart thumping painfully in her chest. She looked around the room sharply before throwing back her covers and running to check on her family. '_They have to be here_,' she thought, silently pleading that they would be.

She reached Ella's room first. The door was wide open, but that was nothing new. Ella was afraid of the dark and so liked to sleep with the door open so the light would hit her as she slept. London crept around the door slowly, hoping the best and dreading the worst. When her eyes found the bed she sunk to the floor, sighing in relief. Ella was still there.

'_Okay,_' she told herself silently, '_Ella's here, now find out if Mum and Dad are too._' As if obeying orders she stood up and hurried to her parents' room. Silent tears fell from her eyes when she found that her parents were also still there. '_They're fine, they're all okay_,' she thought as she headed back to bed.

As she made her way towards her bedroom London thought about what Professor Snape had said before she left for the Christmas holidays. He had told her that although she had managed to lock her mind to invasion, some truly powerful images could still get through. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that it wasn't until the owl hooted loudly did she realise there was one sitting outside her window.

"Who could you be from?" she whispered as she opened the window. The owl hopped inside and extended its leg obediently. London took the envelope, cool and crisp in her sweaty hand. As soon as she had removed the envelope the owl took off into the night, leaving her standing in the cool breeze from the open window. "Alright let's see what we've got." She closed the window and returned to her bed, grabbing the flashlight she kept close for midnight Disney reading.

_London,_

_First, let me apologise for my behaviour last term. I wasn't feeling very well for those last few weeks and I'm sorry that I was so rude to you. I understand that you were just concerned for me and for that I am glad._

_Perhaps we could start over? Pretend that last term never happened and start fresh when school goes back after the New Year. If you're afraid of what __Potter__ Harry and the others might say if they saw us then I guess we could just meet up in the Room of Requirement._

_I have no idea why a first year like you is so interested in a sixth year but I'm willing to give it a go if you will._

_Draco Malfoy_

London stared at the page blankly. After about a month of trying to befriend him, Draco had taken the step himself and sent her the owl basically asking for her friendship. '_What brought this on?_' she wondered as she turned off the flashlight and put the letter on her bedside table.

When she closed her eyes she could see the last day she had spoken to him. He had stared at the mark on the back of her hand curiously. Most people just assumed it was nothing, but he had stared at it like he knew more. '_But he can't know. No one knows._' But as much as she tried she couldn't shake the feeling that Draco knew something about the mark on the back of her hand, and that was something she just didn't think she could handle.


End file.
